ANKARA: Turkey will not allow countries that support terrorism to join NATO, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who also stated that talks with Sweden and Finland on their intentions to join the military alliance have failed.
Erdogan told journalists that last week's talks in Turkey's capital, Ankara, with Finnish and Swedish delegations were not at the "anticipated level."  "They have expectations," the President said, according to the Xinhua news report. "However, they have not taken the essential steps regarding Turkey."

On the contrary, they continued to engage in the activities that Turkey has criticised, he added.

"As long as Tayyip Erdogan remains President of Turkey, we will not be able to say 'yes' to countries that 'support terrorism' joining NATO." Following the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February, Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO last week. 

Except for Turkey, NATO partners have praised the two countries' ideas. The admission of new NATO members necessitates the agreement of current NATO members.

Ankara, on the other hand, is opposed to Sweden and Finland joining the alliance, citing their ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and other anti-Turkish organisations.  Turkey has designated the PKK as a terrorist organisation, and it has been fighting the Ankara government for more than three decades.

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