Turkey does not support the admission of Finland and Sweden to NATO
Turkish President Erdogan speaks during a press conference at NATO headquarters (Belgium) in June 2021 – Photo: REUTERS
The statement was made by Mr. Erdogan on May 13, just one day after Finland announced its intention to join NATO while Sweden has not yet made an official decision on this.
“We do not have a positive view on admitting these countries,” President Erdogan told local media.
Turkey has long accused Nordic countries, especially Sweden, of harboring radical Kurdish groups as well as supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a missionary living in the US and wanted on charges forced to pull the strings of the failed coup in 2016.
Recalling the previous Ankara government’s “mistake” when allowing Greece to join NATO in 1952, Mr. Erdogan said his government would not repeat that mistake.
The admission of a new member requires the consent of all existing members, according to Reuters. Therefore, Ankara’s objections could make Helsinki’s route to NATO more difficult than expected.
Responding to the Turkish leader’s comments, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto called for “calmness” and reiterated that joining NATO is not done in a day but will take many steps.
Erdogan’s comments appeared to come as a surprise to Finland, considering that Haavisto has visited Turkey twice in recent months and that Finnish President Sauli Niinisto spoke by phone with Mr. April, according to AFP.
Mr. Niinisto once firmly asserted on Twitter that Ankara “supports the goals of Finland”.
Russia denies cutting gas to Finland
At a press conference on May 13, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described information in a Finnish newspaper that Russia could cut off gas supplies to Finland after May 13 as “a hoax”. “.
According to the newspaper, Moscow’s suspension of gas supplies is an action to punish Helsinki for abandoning its neutrality status to join NATO.
However, according to Peskov, Russia’s state-owned energy corporation Gazprom is still a reliable gas supplier and is supplying gas to many customers, including NATO countries. So there will be no Russian cut off gas to Finland.
Despite statements from Russia, a Finnish government committee in charge of emergencies said Helsinki had prepared a scenario where Moscow would close the gas valve.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: tuoitre.vn – Read the original article here
