Turkey´s president complicated Sweden and Finland´s bid to join NATO, saying he cannot allow them to become members because of their perceived inaction against exiled Kurdish militants.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan doubled down on comments last week indicating that the two Nordic countries´ path to NATO would be anything but smooth. All 30 current NATO countries must agree to open the door to new members.Erdogan spoke to reporters just hours after Sweden joined Finland in announcing it would seek NATO membership in the wake of Russian’s invasion of Ukraine, ending more than 200 years of military nonalignment.
Sweden has welcomed hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Middle East in recent decades, including ethnic Kurds from Syria, Iraq and Turkey. “We have a very strong anti-terrorist agenda and a lot of, almost, accusations that are coming out ... are simply not true,” she said. Moscow has repeatedly warned Finland, which shares a 830-mile border with Russia, and Sweden of repercussions should they pursue NATO membership. But Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday seemed to downplay the significance of their move.
“The Russian leadership thought they could bully Ukraine and deny them and other countries self-determination,” Kristersson said. “They thought they could scare Sweden and Finland and drive a wedge between us and our neighbors and allies. They were wrong.”
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