Ankara warns it will slowdown accession of Finland, Sweden to NATO
Once again, Turkey warns NATO that it will halt the accession of both Finland and Sweden to NATO if Ankara's demands are not met.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
If its demands are not satisfied, Ankara might stall the process of Sweden and Finland joining NATO, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Monday.
"I repeat once again that if our demands are not met the process will be slowed down. We see that especially Sweden does not show the proper reaction," Erdogan said in a nationwide address after a cabinet meeting.
Previously with Turkey, Finland, Sweden, and NATO
Previously, in May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed determination to block Sweden and Finland's application to enter NATO, calling Sweden a "complete terror haven."
On June 15, Turkey rejected NATO's offer to hold trilateral talks with Finland and Sweden. On July 10, Sweden made a list of 10 Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members to extradite to Turkey following the signature of a memorandum in Madrid, Turkish broadcaster TRT Haber reported on Sunday.
Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said earlier in the week that Ankara had sent a written request to Finland and Sweden to extradite members of the PKK and the organization of the Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen (FETO) that Turkey deems terrorist.
The Swedish Ministry of Justice told RIA Novosti that there are no official documents related to Ankara's demand to extradite the members of organizations deemed terrorist in this Republic. Between 2019 and 2022, the Swedish government approved three of Ankara's 16 extradition applications.
