27.05.2022 13:27
Sweden, Finland should end their support of terrorism if they want to join NATO, says Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
NATO's new strategic concept should include a resolve to fight all forms of terrorism, the Turkish foreign minister said on Friday.
In a joint news conference with his Romanian and Polish counterparts following a trilateral meeting, Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Sweden and Finland should end their support of terrorism if they want to join NATO.
Cavusolgu said that Turkiye's stance on the two countries' NATO bids is "clear and unequivocal.""I hope Finland and Sweden understand our messages," he added.
Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO last week, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24.
But Turkiye, a longstanding member of the alliance, has voiced objections to their membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.
Ankara hosted on Wednesday consultations with Swedish and Finnish delegations on their NATO applications in the capital.
According to presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, it has been conveyed that their NATO bids cannot progress unless Turkiye's security concerns are addressed through concrete steps, and in a certain timeframe. -