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Turkey will not approve admission to NATO of countries supporting terrorism, says Erdogan

According to the Turkish leader, the two Scandinavian countries, which are seeking NATO membership, continue to make mistakes in relations with Turkey

ANKARA, May 29. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday his country will never approve admission to NATO of countries, which support terrorists, as long as he is in power.

"Regrettably, our delegation’s meetings with [representatives] of Finland and Sweden were not held at an expected level. We have their expectations but they made no steps toward Turkey. And they continue to allow terrorist walk about Stockholm’s streets and protect them with the help of their own police," he told journalists upon return from Azerbaijan. "As log as Tayyip Erdogan is Turkey’s head f state, we cannot say yes to the admission to NATO of countries, which support terrorism."

According to the Turkish leader, the two Scandinavian countries, which are seeking NATO membership, continue to make mistakes in relations with Turkey. "In the evening on the day of the talks [between Turkey, Sweden, and Finland in Ankara] they aired an interview with a terrorist Salih Muslim. The continue to stick to negative approaches to the problem of F-16 [supplies to Turkey] and so on. They are not honest and sincere. We cannot repeat a mistake made in the past in respect of countries, which receive and support such terrorists in NATO, an organization tasked to ensure security," he added.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on May 18 that Ankara would refuse to support the admission of Sweden and Finland to NATO until they made a decision on their attitude to terrorist organizations, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which Turkey regards as terrorist. He made a similar statement on May 16, adding that he was against admitting Finland and Sweden to NATO due to these countries’ refusal to extradite accomplices in KWP’s activity to Turkey. Nevertheless, on May 21, the Turkish leader said that his country would support Sweden’s and Finland’s accession to the bloc is Stockholm and Helsinki clearly demonstrate solidarity with Ankara’s security concerns.