2 yıl önce

Erdogan seeks concrete steps on security amid Nordic NATO bid

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed that without prioritising basic security concerns, NATO's enlargement policy is not good for either Türkiye or NATO itself.

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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Türkiye would not look "positively" on Sweden and Finland's NATO bids unless its terror-related concerns were addressed.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Ankara wants to see concrete steps rather than open-ended diplomatic statements about its security amid Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership bids.

Speaking at an event in the northwestern Kocaeli province on Monday, Erdogan said Türkiye's security concerns should not be addressed by diplomatic statements.

He stressed that Ankara believes NATO's enlargement policy without prioritising basic security concerns is not good for either Türkiye or NATO itself.

Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO on May 18 — a decision spurred by Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine, which began in February.

However, Türkiye, a longstanding member of the alliance, has voiced objections to the membership bids, criticising the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.

Türkiye’s President Erdogan on Finland and Sweden's NATO bid

- We want concrete steps, not open ended diplomatic statements regarding our national security
- Expansion of NATO that ignores basic security vulnerabilities is not good for either Türkiye or NATO pic.twitter.com/ZtfX7i5WxA
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) May 23, 2022