Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that in the context of Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO they will continue to closely monitor these two countries regarding their commitments to Turkey.
Erdogan said in his address to Turkey’s Grand Assembly:
“We clearly showed our determination to combat terrorism during NATO’s recent expansion process. Terrorism was recognized as one of the major threats to the alliance in NATO’s latest Strategy Concept in Madrid, thanks to our efforts. We also had our expectations regarding the fight against terror under record in the trilateral memorandum signed before the Madrid Summit.”
Noting that they continue to closely monitor whether or not Sweden and Finland are fulfilling their commitments, he continued:
“The ultimate decision will be given by the Parliament on behalf of our nation. We will maintain our determined stance in this issue till the promises made to our country have been fulfilled.”
Sweden, Finland and Turkey signed a deal on 28 June to clear the way for the two Nordic countries to become NATO members in return for their assurance to prosecute and extradite Kurdish activists allegedly affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), not support the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Northern Syria, and to end arms export bans imposed on Turkey after its occupation of Syrian territories in 2019.
Swedish authorities recently announced that the ban on arms exports to Turkey has been lifted.
Source:gerceknews
