Erdogan seeks 'concrete steps' from Finland & Sweden on terrorism ahead of NATO meeting

Ahead of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asserted that membership in the military alliance "comes with responsibilities." The leader stated that Turkey demands "concrete steps" from Finland and Sweden to address Ankara's concerns. Erdogan stressed that Ankara no more requires "empty words" from Sweden and Finland on terrorist groups, Anadolu Agency reported. The development comes as Turkey has objected to Sweden and Finland's bids to join NATO and accused them of supporting Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which Ankara designates as a "terrorist organisation."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke about the possibility of a meeting with the United States of America President Joe Biden on Tuesday or Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid. Erdogan said that he will not be meeting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis until "they come to their senses," as per the aforementioned report.

He further stated that the high-level strategic council meeting with Greece has been cancelled. The statement comes at the time of the NATO Summit which is scheduled to begin on June 28 and end on June 30 in Madrid. In a tweet, Turkish President Erdogan said that their main expectation from the summit is the "unconditional manifestation of alliance solidarity." He stated that they expect that their allies do not discriminate in the fight against terrorism. 

Erdogan to hold meeting with leaders of Finland, Sweden & NATO

Meanwhile, Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin stated that President Tayyip Erdogan will meet with the leaders of Sweden, Finland, as well as North Atlantic Alliance on Tuesday, June 28. Speaking to Turkish TV news channel Haberturk, Kalin said that Erdogan will participate in the meeting with the said leaders at the request of NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Madrid. He stressed that participating in the meeting does not imply that they will "step back" from their position. He recalled that Turkish officials had twice met with their counterparts from Sweden and Finland to discuss their NATO applications. 

Kalin said that Turkey seeks a 'clear and unequivocal stance' from Sweden and Finland against the PKK/PYD/YPG terror groups and affiliated structure. Earlier on June 16, the spokesperson stated that Ankara expects Sweden and Finland to end the existence of terror groups like 'PKK, PYD, YPG, FETO, DHKP-C and their front organizations.' According to Kalin, Turkey wants Sweden and Finland to stop the collection of funds, recruitment of personnel and activities that take place against Ankara. He made the remarks after attending a conference in Ankara. As per an AP report, Kalin said that Turkey wants the extradition of 28 “terrorism” suspects from Sweden and 12 from Finland.