EXPLAINER: Why is Turkey wary of Nordic states' NATO bid?
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has thrown a spanner in the works of Sweden and Finland’s historic decisions to seek NATO membership, declaring that he cannot allow them to join due to their alleged support of Kurdish militants and other groups that Ankara says threaten its national security.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has voiced confidence that the alliance will move to admit Sweden and Finland swiftly. But Erdogan's declaration suggests that the two Nordic countries’ path to membership could be anything but smooth.
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Erdogan’s objection to Sweden and Finland stems from Turkish grievances with Stockholm’s — and to a lesser degree Helsinki’s — perceived support of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, the leftist extremist group DHKP-C and followers of the U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen who Ankara claims was behind a failed military coup attempt in 2016.
Many Kurdish and other exiles have found refuge in Sweden over the past decades, as have members of Gulen’s movement more recently. According to Turkey’s state-run media, Sweden and Finland have refused to extradite 33 people wanted by Turkey.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/explainer-why-is-turkey-wary-of-nordic-states-nato-bid/ar-AAXniTe
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