Istanbul: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed that his country will not greenlight Sweden’s NATO membership unless the Nordic country takes a strong stance against “terrorist groups”.
“How can a government that has not distanced itself from terrorist organizations contribute to NATO?” Xinhua news agency quoted Erdogan as saying at the graduation ceremony of the National Defense University in Istanbul on Friday.
His government expects Sweden to keep its promise to take into account Turkey’s security concerns.
The president said that he will pay attention to the allies at the NATO meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania next week.
Erdogan noted that Turkey supports NATO’s open policy and is ready to accept any government that adheres to the alliance’s fundamental principles.
Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year, but the two countries have faced objections from Turkey, which says they harbor members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the Gulen movement.
Turkey finally lifted its objections to Finland earlier this year after the Nordic country took “concrete steps” against such groups, and the country became NATO’s 31st member in April.
But Ankara maintains Sweden’s veto.
The military alliance will hold a meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania from July 11 to 12, during which NATO will seek to finalize Sweden’s accession process.