Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is threatening to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO, hoped on Wednesday May 18 that Turkey’s allies “will hear (his) concerns“.
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“We can’t say yes“, he repeated. “Supporting terrorism and asking for (our) support is a lack of coherence“Insisted the head of state who accuses the two Nordic countries of harboring members of the PKK, Kurdistan Workers’ Party, classified as a terrorist organization by Ankara, as well as by the United States and the European Union. “Our only expectation is that NATO will show good will towards Turkey’s legitimate efforts to protect its borders.“, he continued. PKK fighters are mostly settled in Turkey’s neighboring countries: Iraq, Syria and Iran. “None of our allies ever respected these concerns, I’m not talking about support“, he supported.
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President Erdogan has also reiterated his requests for the extradition of “terroristshosted by Sweden, to which Stockholm, he accuses, never responded. He recalled that “about thirty extradition requestshad been postponed. The Head of State again warned that the Swedish and Finnish envoys announced Monday in Ankara were not welcome: “That they don’t get tired“, he hammered. Since Friday, the Turkish president has opposed the enlargement of NATO to these two countries and continues to reiterate his hostility despite the soothing words of those around him.
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