China News Service, July 1. According to Agence France-Presse, on June 30 local time, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Sweden and Finland that if the two countries cannot reach a new joining agreement with Turkey, he can still block the two countries. Join NATO.
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
According to reports, Erdogan issued the above warning at the end of the NATO summit.
Erdogan warned that the future behavior of Sweden and Finland would determine whether he submits their applications to the Turkish parliament.
"If they fulfill their duties, we will submit it (application) to parliament. If they do not fulfill their duties, it will not be possible," Erdogan said.
In addition, a senior Turkish diplomat in the United States said the ratification process could begin as early as the end of September, or as late as 2023.
On May 18, Sweden and Finland ended their military non-alignment history and formally submitted their applications to join NATO to Stoltenberg.
According to the regulations, NATO must "unanimously agree" on the premise of 30 member states to admit new members.
Since Finland and Sweden expressed their desire to apply to join NATO, Turkey has clearly expressed its opposition.
Turkey has repeatedly stressed that Finland and Sweden must stop supporting the PKK, the Syrian Kurdish armed "People's Protection Units" and the "Gulen Movement" when they seek to join NATO, and lift restrictions on Turkey's export of defense equipment.
On June 28, Turkey finally relented and agreed to support Finland and Sweden in joining NATO.
The three countries signed a joint memorandum that underscores their commitment to "full support for threats to each other's security."