JAKARTA - Turkey will not change its stance against Finland and Sweden's desire to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), until concrete and decisive steps are taken to fight terrorism, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Speaking at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) parliamentary group in the capital Ankara, President Erdogan said Turkey would not support Sweden, while terrorist organizations act freely in the country.
"While the fall of our country tears our hearts every day, no one can expect any concessions from us on this issue. Let me underline, Turkey has no time to lose hope or ambivalent statements on this issue," he said.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavuşoğlu said Turkey appreciates NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's efforts to address Turkey's security concerns.
He reiterated that Turkey submitted its demands to Sweden and Finland in an official written letter, still awaiting a concrete response.
After decades of neutrality, Russia's war in Ukraine prompted Sweden and Finland to sign up to join the Western defense alliance in May. But they face 'resistance' from Turkey
Ankara reasons, the two countries provide support to terrorist groups, including the PKK and its Syrian wing, the YPG.
While the two Nordic countries said talks would continue to resolve the dispute, Ankara said it had not received any response to its demands, including ending support for groups Turkey considers terrorists, lifting the arms embargo on Ankara and extradite the suspect it is seeking.
It is known, every application to join NATO requires the support of all 30 member countries.
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