NATO chief says it's TIME BUT Turkey AGAINST: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accusing the countries

1 year ago
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that Sweden and Finland were ready to join the military alliance. Stoltenberg said the two Nordic states had delivered on Turkey's demands, paving the way for accession. "It's time to welcome Finland and Sweden as members of NATO," he told a press conference alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Istanbul. But Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu poured cold water over Sweden and Finland"s aspirations to rapidly join NATO on Thursday, saying that, despite some progress, the countries had not met all the conditions of the three-way deal struck to allow them to enter the military alliance.
Turkey has been the only NATO member explicitly opposed to Helsinki and Stockholm's accession, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accusing the countries of harboring Kurdish militants classified as "terrorists" by Ankara. Stoltenberg said Sweden and Finland had implemented commitments made in June, including provisions on extraditions and information sharing. Cavusoglu was a bit more guarded, saying that Stockholm had taken some steps, including removing arms sales restrictions to Turkey but said "it's not possible to say" the July agreement was fully implemented. Cavusoglu warned that the changes must be permanent and that Sweden should not backtrack once NATO membership was secured.

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