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| Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan |
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday it was not possible for NATO-member Turkey to support plans by Sweden and Finland to join the pact, saying the Nordic countries were โhome to many terrorist organisationsโ.
Finlandโs plan to apply for NATO membership, announced Thursday, and the expectation that Sweden will follow, would bring about the expansion of the Western military alliance that Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed to prevent by launching the Ukraine invasion.
โWe are following the developments regarding Sweden and Finland, but we donโt hold positive views,โ Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul, adding it was a mistake for NATO to accept Greece as a member in the past.
Turkey has been officially supportive of enlargement since it joined NATO 70 years ago. Any decision on enlargement must be made by unanimous agreement of its members.
โAs Turkey, we donโt want to repeat similar mistakes. Furthermore, Scandinavian countries are guesthouses for terrorist organisations,โ Erdogan said.
โThey are even members of the parliament in some countries. It is not possible for us to be in favour,โ he added.
Swedish Foreign Ministry could not immediately comment on Erdoganโs statement.
NATO states that membership is open to any โEuropean state in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic areaโ.
REUTERS
