Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated on Wednesday that the republic's authorities will not support the admission of Sweden and Finland to NATO because they have not extradited terror suspects at Ankara's request.
"We asked for 30 terrorists to be extradited to us, they have not given them to us. You do not extradite terrorists to us, but at the same time you expect our support for NATO membership. NATO is a security organization, so we will not say yes to an organization that itself lacks security," Erdogan said, speaking in Parliament at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party, which he heads.
Turkey's president once again urged representatives of Sweden and Finland not to waste time visiting Ankara to persuade it to support them in joining NATO.
On May 16, the President of Turkey said that he was against the membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO because of the refusal of these countries to extradite people involved in the activities of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which Ankara considers a terrorist organization, as well as their lack of a clear position regarding terrorist structures. At the same time, he advised representatives of Scandinavian countries planning to visit Ankara not to bother travelling.
In addition, Erdogan said he expects understanding from NATO on such sensitive issues for Ankara as security and border protection.
"NATO is taking steps to expand its eastern borders. We see someone opening their arms, showing goodwill, in the context of the Ukrainian crisis. We, as a NATO ally, have been fighting terrorism for years and have not seen this kind of attitude toward us. We expect our allies to understand our sensitivity, respect and possibly support us," the president of Turkey said.
According to the Turkish president, Ankara has no pretensions to foreign territories; the main thing for it is to ensure its own security. "We have no claims to foreign territories, we are determined to eradicate elements at the source that pose a threat to our security," Erdogan said, referring to the Turkish army's operations in Iraq and Syria against Kurdish fighters. "Didn't our NATO partners send weapons and ammunition to terrorist organizations whose activities are directed against Turkey?" - noted the Turkish president.
Erdogan has previously repeatedly criticized NATO for refusing to help fight Kurdish separatists near its borders.
Turkey is one of the oldest members of NATO. The country joined the alliance in 1952 and has the second largest army in the alliance.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS