Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Prague on Thursday in favor of his country’s approval of Finland’s accession to NATO, but not Sweden.
“Our Relationships Finland Better and different than in Sweden” At a press conference in the Czech capital, where he attended the first meeting of the European Political Community, Erdogan said that it is a forum attended by 44 European leaders from both the European Union (EU) and outside the community club.
“Finland is not a place where terrorists roam freely”The Turkish president added that his government was ready to do “everything possible” to facilitate the aforementioned country’s accession to the Atlantic Alliance.
Ankara He blocked Finland and Sweden from entering the country. The Atlantic Alliance, arguing that they give shelter and support to people they consider terrorists, however, at the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June, the government lifted its veto on certain conditions, including the extradition of so-called “terrorists”.
Erdogan warned The Turkish Parliament will only approve the entry of two Northern applicants after they have verified that they meet these requirements.
Contrary to the situation in Finland, Erdogan remains reluctant to accept Sweden.
“As long as terrorist organizations continue to march in Sweden, as long as they are in the Swedish Parliament, “Our stance towards Sweden will not be positive, it will not change,” he said.
Latter, The Turkish president admitted he had tensions with Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at dinner with other leaders in Prague.
“I spoke at dinner tonight. I gave my speech and the Greek Prime Minister was very upset.. I don’t know who gave him permission to speak and said that I made such a harsh statement about them.”
Again, Erdogan did not elaborate on the content of both of their speeches.
“They (Greeks) always lie, his policy is based on lies. They want us to step up and put a few countries as mediators. Today, many countries have asked us to meet with them (…) There is no need to meet with Greece at the moment,” he said.
The two neighboring countries, both NATO members, have a long history of tension. It has intensified in recent years with mutual accusations of violations of airspace and territorial waters in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Erdogan reported that he organized it in Prague today several “very constructive” meetings with leaders from different countries, He valued the European Political Community, including Pedro Sánchez, head of the Spanish Government, as a “very timely” platform.
However, he pointed out that this is not an alternative to the enlargement of the EU. “We hope this political platform will help us join the EU.”