ANKARA – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Turkey could not back Sweden and Finland’s efforts to join NATO since the Nordic countries are “home to many terrorist organisations.”

Finland’s decision to seek for NATO membership, which was revealed on Thursday, and the assumption that Sweden would follow suit, would result in the enlargement of the Western military alliance that Russian President Vladimir Putin hoped to avoid by invading Ukraine.

“We are following developments in Sweden and Finland, but we do not hold optimistic views,” Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul, adding that NATO’s acceptance of Greece as a member in the past was a mistake.

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Since joining NATO 70 years ago, Turkey has been an outspoken supporter of expansion. Any decision on enlargement must be taken by its members unanimously.

“We don’t want to make the same mistakes twice. Furthermore, terrorist organisations use Scandinavian nations as a base of operations “Erdogan declared.

“In certain nations, they are even members of parliament. We can’t possibly be on the side of the good guys “he continued.

Erdogan’s statement elicited no instant response from the Swedish Foreign Ministry.

According to NATO, any “European state in a position to further the ideals of this Treaty and contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area” is eligible to join.