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Turkish President Erdoğan
Photo: Burhan Ozbilici/AP
In view of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the two Scandinavian states of Finland and Sweden want to join NATO as soon as possible.
However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan could thwart them.
Turkey will not agree to the accession of Sweden and Finland, Erdoğan said, according to joint reports from the news agencies and Anadolu.
Diplomatic delegations from the two EU countries shouldn't have any hopes of successfully persuading the Turkish side in Ankara to give in, the president said.
Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson officially announced on Monday that her country would apply to join NATO.
Finland had already made public its intention to join the defense alliance on Sunday.
Since Turkey had previously announced opposition to enlargement, both countries wanted to send delegations to Ankara to settle differences.
A unanimous vote by NATO and the ratification of the alliance expansion by the parliaments of the 30 existing member states are required for Finland and Sweden to join.
Turkey justifies resistance with a lack of cooperation in the fight against "terrorism"
The background to Turkey's resistance to NATO expansion in the north is apparently Ankara's accusation that Sweden and Finland are not cooperating sufficiently in the fight against terrorism.
In the past five years, neither Sweden nor Finland had responded positively to Turkey's total of 33 extradition requests, Anadolu reported on Monday, citing the Ministry of Justice in Ankara.
Erdoğan had already accused both states last Friday of behaving "like a guest house for terrorist organizations".
According to Anadolu, the “terrorist suspects” whose extradition Ankara is demanding are Kurdish extremists or members of the movement led by the preacher Fethullah Gülen.
Erdoğan blames the Gülen movement for the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.
fek/Reuters/AFP