A central NATO member disagrees with the military bloc that Sweden and Finland should not be part of and justified their objections.
Turkey disputed the intentions of these Scandinavian nations to join NATO as they are guesthouses for terrorists. Brussels is eager to usher them in an expedited manner to add nations close to Russia's borders.
Turkey Disagrees Scandinavian Nations To Join NATO
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the remarks last Friday, referring to militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a separatist movement active in southeastern Turkey, also members of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Front (DHKP/C) that is an outlawed Turkish leftist party, reported the Daily Telegraph.
An announcement came after Helsinki and Stockholm expressed their desire to join the US-led military alliance.
The Turkish leader stated all the developments regarding Stockholm and Helsinki getting admitted into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) do not have Ankara's support. He added that they are unable to take a positive approach at this time.
Erdogan compared these northern countries that are bastions of those considered terrorists by his regime. Both the PKK and DHKP/C have presences in Stockholm and the Netherlands. Included in the statements even in these countries' legislatures, noted RT.
Affected by Russia's military intervention in Ukraine, Sweden and Finland started to consider ditching their neutral status and trying to join NATO in April. A proposal has already gained support from top Finnish officials. By May 15, Sweden will decide to enlist in the military alliance.
Before this, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the US-led organization would be eager to add Sweden and Finland and make the enlistment process move swiftly. But Turkey, a central NATO member, objected to it.
Moscow has reiterated that NATO advancement is indeed a threat to its national security. The Kremlin has also advised Stockholm and Helsinki that joining the coalition might jeopardize rather than enhance their security, cites Reuters.
Italy Says Finland, Sweden Intent To Join NATO Is Too Premature
Matteo Salvini, the head of the Italian ruling coalition's Lega party, spoke against admitting Stockholm and Helsinki as NATO entrants, as the aforementioned are considering doing so soon, but the latter has by now threatened to file a bid to join, mentioned Sputnik News.
This Italian head had the backing of a fellow party member, Economic Development Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti, who argued for these reasons.
These prospective members joining NATO, both two new countries close to the border of Russia, is not a solution to have an end to the ongoing conflict but does the opposite.
It goes against the policy of Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, part of the Five Stars Movement. Announcing in G7 meeting at Rome that Italy will support these two northern nations' desire to seek membership.
Shortly after the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine last February 24, the two nations that had previously sustained their neutral status changed their minds.
Unlike the Finnish government, Swedish leaders are unsure whether it wants to join, but NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has already indicated that the alliance will happily take both states.
Following Ukraine's failure to pass the terms of the Minsk agreements, initially signed in 2014, as well as Moscow's eventual recognition of the Donbas republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, Russia ordered an offensive on the neighboring state through late February.
Ukraine dropped neutrality and wanted to join NATO, but Moscow had info that Kyiv would attack Donbas and take it by force. Central NATO member Turkey objected to Sweden and Finland joining the military alliance due to the leftist organizations in these nations.
