Turkey will postpone issue of joining NATO Finland and Sweden

Ankara intends to postpone the issue of the issue of Sweden and Finland to NATO for a year, hoping for this period to get sufficient guarantees from these two countries to combat Kurdish groups, said the chairman of the Turkish International Affairs Committee Akif Chagatai Kylych.

“This question is associated with vital national interests. We are ready to prevent their membership during the year, if necessary,” the Turkish media cite the words of Kylych.

“Turkey has the second largest army in NATO and provides drones that help Ukraine defend ourselves. We deserve more respect,” he said.

He indicated that Turkey fulfills its obligations within the framework of the Alliance, while Sweden and Finland “provide refuge with terrorist organizations that kill our people, do not respect our borders and pose a threat to the existence of our country”.

Finland and Sweden submitted applications for joining NATO May 18.