January 30, 2023
1 min read

‘Turkey may respond differently to Finland’s NATO bid’

Turkey has postponed a trilateral meeting with Sweden and Finland on their NATO bids slated to take place in February following the burning of a copy of the Quran in Sweden…reports Asian Lite News

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Turkey may respond “differently” to Finland’s NATO bid in a way that would “shock” Sweden.

“We may respond differently to Finland if necessary. Sweden would be shocked when we respond differently to Finland. But Finland should not make the same mistake,” Erdogan said at a meeting in the northwestern province of Bilecik on Sunday.

Turkey submitted a list of 120 “terrorists” to Sweden for extradition, the Turkish President said, adding that the Nordic country must extradite these people in order to join the NATO.

It is the first time that Erdogan indicated that Ankara could evaluate ratifying Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership with a different approach, according to the report.

Turkey has postponed a trilateral meeting with Sweden and Finland on their NATO bids slated to take place in February following the burning of a copy of the Quran in Sweden.

Sweden and Finland submitted their formal requests to join NATO in May 2022, which were initially objected by Turkey, a NATO member, citing their support for anti-Turkish Kurdish organisations and political dissidents.

A month later, Turkey, Sweden, and Finland reached a memorandum of understanding (MoU) ahead of the NATO summit held in Madrid, Spain.

In the MoU, Ankara agreed to lift its veto on the NATO bids by Finland and Sweden, which in return pledged to support Turkey’s fight against terrorism and address its “pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects expeditiously and thoroughly”.

The Turkish parliament has not ratified the Nordic countries’ NATO bids so far, citing that they have yet to meet Turkey’s requests.

ALSO READ-NATO talks with Sweden, Finland ‘meaningless’: Turkey

Previous Story

Adani Group gives detailed responses to Hindenburg

Next Story

Hunt rules out significant tax cuts in Budget  

Latest from -Top News

Ramaphosa gains from US showdown

South African President’s conduct with Trump reminded South Africans of his diplomatic pedigree, and of his importance to the country’s rules-based order South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and his delegation went to

Armed gangs kill dozens in Nigeria

A local state governor said “scores” of people had been killed in the attacks, which also saw homes and properties destroyed. Northeast Nigeria has been gripped by a deadly wave of violence

Children die as USAID aid cuts snap a lifeline

Trump administration cut more than 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall assistance around the world. Programs serving children were hit hard Under the dappled light of a
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Turkey greenlights Sweden’s NATO bid

The announcement came following talks between the Turkish and Swedish

NATO Bolsters Baltic Defence

NATO plans to strengthen its Baltic Sea presence with an