Sweden can become NATO member if it fulfills commitments: Turkish defense minister
BRUSSELS (AA): The Turkish national defense minister has said that if Sweden fulfills its commitments it can become a NATO member like Finland.
Meeting reporters in Brussels after the NATO defense ministers meeting, Yasar Guler expressed support for the military alliance’s “open door” policy.
In the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Sweden is looking to join NATO. However, Türkiye, a NATO member for more than 70 years, has blocked the Nordic country’s bid expressing concerns over the presence of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Sweden.
Earlier this year, Türkiye ratified Finland’s NATO bid, but is holding back Sweden’s bid.
Guker also said: “We expressed our sensitivity in the fight against terrorism, as we do in every environment. We underlined that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations should be fought without discrimination. We emphasized our determination to fight against all terrorist organizations, including PKK/YPG/PYD, FETO, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and others. We stated that we expect full support from all our allies in this regard.”
Turkiye considers Kurdish nationalist groups “terrorist” organizations. It also rejects the progressive Islamic movement against Erdogan led by Fetullah Gulen as a terrorist group.
A trilateral memorandum at a NATO summit signed in June last year stipulates that Finland and Sweden will not provide support to the YPG/PYD, the PKK’s Syrian offshoot, or to the “Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).”
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