Erdogan tells Sweden, NATO leaders that Turkey awaits steps for NATO bids
ISTANBUL (Reuters) -President Tayyip Erdogan advised the heads of NATO and Sweden on Saturday that Nordic international locations should take binding steps to deal with Turkey’s considerations and overcome its opposition to their membership bids, Turkish state media reported.
Sweden and Finland utilized for NATO membership in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However Ankara stunned allies in opposing the bids on grounds it says Stockholm and Helsinki help Kurdish militants just like the Kurdistan Staff Get together (PKK), they usually preserve arms embargos on Turkey. It desires reversals on each fronts.
On one name, Erdogan advised Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson that Turkey desires to see the “concrete and clear functions of binding commitments Sweden will make” earlier than backing its bid, Anadolu company reported.
Andersson mentioned she had an excellent name with Erdogan. “Agreed on significance of creating progress in run-up to the NATO Summit in Madrid subsequent week, the place I sit up for assembly President Erdogan and different Allied leaders,” she mentioned on Twitter.
NATO Secretary Basic Jens Stoltenberg additionally described on Twitter his separate name pretty much as good and mentioned he and Erdogan agreed to proceed talks over the Nordic states’ membership bids at a NATO summit in Madrid this week.
(Reporting by Azra Ceylan; extra reporting by Niklas Pollard in Stockholm; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Enhancing by Frank Jack Daniel)
