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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that Finland and Sweden should change their laws if necessary, to meet Turkey’s demands and gain its support for joining NATO, by reinforced the threat to veto a historic alliance expansion.
On May 13, Turkey opposed Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership on the grounds that the two Nordic countries were harboring members of groups it defines as terrorist, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and because they stopped exporting weapons to Turkey. in 2019.
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership after the Russian occupation of Ukraine. In order for them to join the alliance, all 30 member states must give their approval.
Mevlut Cavusoglu stated that Turkey, a seven-decade-old NATO member, would not lift its veto if its demands were not met, underlining recent statements by President Taip Erdogan.
Ankara demands that Sweden and Finland stop their support for the PKK and other groups, stop them from organizing events on their territory, extradite those accused by Turkey of terrorism, support Ankara’s military operations, and lift restrictions on arms exports.
Finland and Sweden are seeking a solution through negotiations, while other NATO members have said they remain convinced that objections raised by Turkey – which has NATO’s second largest army – can be overcome.
documents
Cavusoglu said Turkey had given the Finnish and Swedish delegations documents outlining the demands during talks in Ankara last week and was awaiting a response, adding that he expects allies to work to address security concerns.
“Are our demands impossible? Jo. “We want them to stop their support for terrorism,” Cavusoglu told the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency, adding that Ankara was aware that some of its demands would require the laws to be changed.
“They think this way: ‘Since we are very far from terrorist regions, our laws have been created this way.’ “Well, then you have to change them,” he said. “They say that the terrorist organization is allowed to organize events and wave the surrounding flags. “Then you have to change your laws.”
The Nordic states have said they condemn terrorism and are open to dialogue.
Cavusoglu said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was working on the issue and had proposed holding talks in Brussels with the three countries, but said Ankara expects Stockholm and Helsinki to respond to its demands with writing. “There must be concrete things for us to discuss,” he said
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