Turkey expects Finland ,Sweden to take steps in support of NATO bids: FM

Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkish Foreign Minister, stated that Turkey wants Sweden and Finland to take tangible actions and cease “supporting terrorist organisations” in exchange for Ankara’s lifting of objections to the two nations’ NATO membership.

“Both countries need to take concrete steps. Our expectation is not something impossible. They have to stop supporting terrorism if they want to be members of an alliance like NATO,“

Read more: Turkey says normalisation of Israel ties will help resolve Palestinian conflict

Cavasoglu made the remarks at a joint news conference in Istanbul with his Romanian and Polish colleagues on Friday.

Turkey believes that the two NATO candidates are sheltering members of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party and Syria’s Kurdish People’s Protection Units, according to the Xinhua news agency.

According to Cavusoglu, a written document outlining Turkey’s demands from Sweden and Finland was presented to their delegations during their recent visit to Ankara, and a positive reaction is expected.

“We understand the security concerns of Finland and Sweden, but as many of our allies within NATO openly say, everyone needs to understand Turkey’s legitimate security concerns as well,” he stated.

Read more: Turkey hints at a Syria operation amidst NATO expansion talks

Cavusoglu, Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu, and Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau met earlier in the day to discuss ways to improve their cooperation and consultation channels. They also talked about the newest developments in Ukraine’s conflict.

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