Erdogan will continue to prevent Sweden from joining NATO

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will have to fight to remain the country’s president next week, has promised to continue blocking Sweden’s entry into NATO.

In an interview with CNN, the Turkish president continued to accuse Sweden of providing shelter to representatives of terrorist organizations.

He said he could not support Swedes joining the alliance while continuing to allow members of the country’s terrorist group to remain free in Sweden and walk the streets of Stockholm.

“We are not ready for Sweden,” said the Turkish president, adding that NATO member countries should take a tough stance in the fight against terrorism.

In the first round of presidential elections in Turkey, Erdogan received 49.52 percent of votes. His rival Kamal Kılıçdaroğlu collected 44.88 percent of votes. The second round of the elections is planned to be held on May 28.

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Finland and Sweden decided to end years of neutrality and announced plans to join NATO.

In June 2022, NATO officially invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. 30 countries have started the ratification process. Turkey and Hungary slowed down this process.

After long negotiations, Turkey, which has the second largest army in NATO, announced that both countries are ready to ratify the alliance, but they put forward numerous demands for the fight against terrorism. Hungary also objected to it.

Finland was able to reach an agreement with both Ankara and Budapest and became NATO’s 31st member on April 4.

Sweden’s entry into NATO is frozen. In March, Hungary asked Sweden to stop criticizing them. Sweden responded that Stockholm’s official position on the Hungarian issue is no different from Finland’s.

In response to Turkey’s demands, Sweden has adopted a number of new laws to fight terrorism.

Also read: Erdogan promises to free Turkey from refugees