NATO headquarters building in Brussels. File photoANKARA, May 23Turkey expects specific guarantees from Sweden as part of NATO's collective security principle, the country's presidential communications department said in a statement. accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara cannot say «yes» to Finland and Sweden's membership in NATO, because it cannot believe their assurances about relations with representatives of the Kurdistan Workers' Party banned in Turkey. If Turkey agrees, NATO, according to Erdogan, «will not be a security organization, but will become a place where there will be many representatives of terrorists.» Countries cannot be admitted to the alliance without the unanimous approval of all its members. «Despite the fact that our country accepts NATO's «open door» policy, it still believes that member countries and candidate countries for the alliance should implement a high level cooperation in the fight against terrorism, as in all matters. Turkey expects concrete guarantees from Sweden, which supports terrorist organizations, within the framework of NATO's collective security principle,» the statement said.
Erdogan called on NATO to meet Turkey's halfway to accept Finland and Sweden
