Erdogan said last week that he was “not positive” about a possible NATO membership of Sweden and Finland. Turkey accuses those countries of hosting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging a guerrilla war in Turkey for decades. Turkey and the European Union consider that party a terrorist organisation. According to Erdogan, the PKK is mainly recruiting new recruits in Sweden. He described both countries as “host houses for terrorist organizations.”
To resolve
Earlier Monday, Sweden announced its intention to send diplomats to Turkey to discuss possible NATO membership. Defense Secretary Peter Hultqvist said diplomats want to resolve the issue and “see what this is really about.”
However, Erdogan says that both Swedish and Finnish delegations can save themselves that trouble: he will not grant permission as long as the two Scandinavian countries continue to host PKK members. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is nevertheless confident he can allay Turkey’s concerns and does not expect NATO membership to be delayed.
VIDEO: Diplomacy expert Robert van de Roer describes what a possible accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO will mean for geopolitical relations.