Erdogan Opposes to Finland, Sweden NATO Membership

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has officially announced his position on Sweden and Finland joining NATO.

"The Swedish and Finnish delegations should not bother to come to Ankara to persuade it to agree to join NATO," the Turkish president said.

In a press conference, Erdogan indicated that Turkey would not agree to the two countries' efforts to join NATO, saying that Sweden has terrorist organizations.

The Turkish president noted that Sweden has terrorists in its parliament.

Ankara says Sweden and Finland are harboring people linked to terrorist groups, such as the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and followers of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of masterminding the attempted coup in 2016.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu clarified that it is not acceptable for countries that want to join the alliance to impose restrictions on their exports to Turkey, stressing that Ankara has informed NATO members of how Sweden and Finland support organizations that his country considers "terrorist".

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Monday that her country would apply to join the alliance.