ANKARA, May 14. /TASS/. Ankara does not close doors to accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO, but insists that other members of the alliance took Turkey’s national security concerns into account, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Saturday.
"We are not closing the door. But we are basically raising this issue as a matter of national security for Turkey. What needs to be done is clear: they have to stop allowing PKK outlets, activities, organizations, individuals and other types of presence to [...] exist in those countries," Kalin said, according to Reuters.
He claimed Turkey’s readiness to hold negotiations with Sweden on this issue.
"NATO membership is always a process. We will see how things go. But this is the first point that we want to bring to the attention of all the allies as well as to Swedish authorities. Of course we want to have a discussion, a negotiation with Swedish counterparts." he noted. " "If they [Finland and Sweden] have a public concerned about their own national security, we have a public that is equally concerned about our own security," he said. "We have to see this from a mutual point of view."
Meanwhile, Kalin underscored that Russia’s sharp criticism of Finland and Sweden of their plans was not a factor in Turkey’s position.
In early April, a discussion has intensified regarding Finland’s accession to NATO. Sweden is also considering such option. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier that Ankara does not consider the probability of these two countries’ accession to NATO positive, because "Scandinavian states are a guest house for terrorist organizations," referring to the PKK, outlawed in Turkey. According to the Turkish President, "previous administration already made a mistake regarding Greece, and Greece’s attitude towards Turkey is well known." Erdogan underscored that Ankara does not want to make "the second mistake on this issue.".