Prime Minister Erdogan: NATO bids may be rejected even if the vows are not kept. OLASMEDIA TV NEWSThis is what we have for you today:
Istanbul (AP) —Turkey’s leaders Thursday, Ankara, even if both countries fail to fully meet expectations, just two days after agreeing to lift the contract-breaking objection to NATO accession between Sweden and Finland. Warned that it could block the process.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the end of the Alliance Summit in Madrid that the Article 10 agreement with the Nordic pair was Ankara’s victory and addressed all its “sensitivity”.
He specifically demanded Turkey’s Sweden and Finland to hand over suspected terrorists in connection with an outlawed Kurdish group or a network of exiled clergy accused of a 2016 coup failure in Turkey. Emphasized to meet.
But Erdogan added that if the two Nordic states refused the promise, the Turkish parliament could refuse to ratify the agreement signed on Tuesday. NATO accession must be formally approved by all 30 member states, which gives each one a deterrent.
“If you don’t let this pass in Congress, this business won’t work,” Erdogan said. “First, Sweden and Finland have to fulfill their obligations, which are already in the text …. But if they don’t meet these, of course we have no way to send it to Parliament.”
Prime Minister Elduan promises that Sweden will expel 73 “terrorists” to Turkey and crack down on funding and recruitment activities for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its affiliates, which are listed as terrorist groups by the United States and the European Union. Claimed to have done. Turkey sees the Kurdistan People’s Defense Units (YPG) in Syria as an extension of PKK.
The text of the memorandum does not set a specific number of deliveries. Finland and Sweden respond promptly and thoroughly to the pending deportation or delivery request of suspected terrorists, taking into account the information, evidence and information provided by Turkey, in accordance with the European Convention on Extradition of Criminals. I will do it. “
On Wednesday, Turkish Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag had files from 33 Turkish officials allegedly linked to the network of PKK and the US-based Turkish priest Fethullah Gulen by the Swedish and Finnish Ministry of Justice. He said he was.
Journalists repeatedly pressured Prime Minister Erdogan on Thursday about the delivery and whether Sweden actually promised the numbers he quoted. He said the number of delivery requests was previously 60, but has been updated to 73.
“Of course, what we understand is important from our meetings and discussions,” Erdogan said. “Sweden promised to give us these 73 people in this text. They may or may not, we follow it through the text and we make our decision. I will give you. “
There was no immediate response to the request for comment from the Swedish delegation at the Summit in Madrid.
The Swedish government has sought to alleviate concerns that the transaction would lead to a transfer to Turkey without due process.
“I know some people are worried that we may hunt people and start handing over. We always follow Swedish law and international treaties and never hand over Swedish citizens. I think it’s important to say that, “Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson told public broadcaster SVT on Wednesday.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö emphasized that Helsinki pointed out that the memorandum did not include the name of the individual.
“In the case of handing over, we comply with our own laws and international agreements. After all, handing over is a legal discretion that politicians do not have the right to influence,” Niinistö said. ..
NATO, which signed the Joint Memorandum of Understanding, proceeded to invite the Nordic countries to a military alliance aimed at expanding and strengthening in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The most time-consuming part of gaining NATO membership is ratification of the applicant’s accession protocol by the 30 member states of the alliance. This is a parliamentary process that can take several months.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country would begin the process of ratifying Sweden and Finland’s planned NATO accession this week and conclude it “very quickly.”
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Contributed by Aritz Parra in Madrid and Karl Ritter in Berlin.
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Follow the NATO Associated Press coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/nato
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