Turkey reiterates that "it is not possible" to ratify Sweden's accession to NATO if it does not fulfill its "obligations"

MADRID, 31 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Government of Turkey reiterated this Tuesday that "it is not possible" to ratify Sweden's accession to NATO as long as it does not "comply with its obligations", given Ankara's obstacles to its entry into the Alliance, considering that Stockholm is not meeting the requirements agreed by the parties during the summit in Madrid.

"If Sweden fulfills its obligations, we will sit down and talk, but right now it is not possible for us to say 'yes' to Sweden's entry into NATO," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

Thus, he stressed that Ankara "wants NATO to expand" and stressed that "it can understand the security concerns of Finland and Sweden (...), but it is not acceptable that Turkey's security concerns are not met ".

Cavusoglu has denounced the "intense presence" of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Sweden and Finland, "especially in Sweden." "It's not just presence, it's that they are very active," he stated, as reported by the Turkish newspaper 'Milliyet'.

"We sat down, negotiated and signed a tripartite document according to which these two countries would stop their activities. In an open and clear way. We don't want more or less. Finland doesn't have such a big problem, they have taken steps and said they will take steps, but in relation to Sweden (...) the activities continue", he explained.

In this sense, he has emphasized that "it seems that political will is needed" and has denounced the "latest provocations" of the PKK in Sweden, referring to the recent demonstrations against the Turkish government in the European country.

"We have said from the beginning that we have a more positive point of view on Finland, but NATO wants to take on the process jointly. Both countries want it that way," he said, before stressing that Ankara does not want to "avoid" the "war against terrorism" by NATO.