SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Erdogan plays down hopes of Sweden joining NATO in July
Istanbul, June 14 (AFP) Jun 14, 2023
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday rebuffed growing international pressure on Ankara to ratify Sweden's NATO membership bid before the Western defence alliance meets in July.

"Sweden has expectations. It doesn't mean that we will comply with them," Erdogan said in remarks released by his office.

"In order for us to meet these expectations, first of all, Sweden must do its part."

Sweden and its Nordic neighbour Finland ended decades of military non-alignment and applied to join the US-led defence bloc in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey and fellow NATO member Hungary ratified Finland's NATO membership this year.

But both countries' parliaments have yet to approve Sweden's entry, a delay that has caused growing alarm in the West.

US President Joe Biden pressed Erdogan about Sweden during a call he placed after the Turkish leader secured re-election last month.

And NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg discussed the bid with Erdogan in Istanbul earlier this month.

Erdogan noted that Stoltenberg's visit coincided with a protest held in Stockholm by Kurdish supporters of a group recognised as a terrorist organisation by Ankara.

Turkey is pushing Sweden to ban and crack down on such rallies.

"There are rights given to (Sweden's) law enforcement under the constitution. Use those rights. If you don't deal with it, we cannot (say yes) at the summit in Vilnius," Erdogan said.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Maven stays silent after routine pass behind Mars
Sun boundary map tracks shifting Alfven surface over solar cycle
Mission Space to fly second space weather payload with Rogue Space

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Molecular contacts push tandem solar cells to 31.4 percent efficiency
Asymmetric side chain design boosts thick film organic solar cell efficiency
New analysis links lead cooled reactor corrosion to steel microstructure

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Autonomous DARPA project to expand satellite surveillance network by BAE Systems
Momentus joins US Space Force SHIELD contract vehicle
IAEA calls for repair work on Chernobyl sarcophagus

24/7 News Coverage
UAlbany Atmospheric Scientist Proposes Innovative Method to Reduce Aviation's Climate Impact
Digital twin successfully launched and deployed into space
Robots that spare warehouse workers the heavy lifting



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.