Erdogan says Turkey will freeze Finland, Sweden's NATO bids if promises not kept

[Celerity]

https://www.reuters.com/world/erdogan-says-turkey-will-freeze-finland-swedens-nato-bids-if-promises-not-kept-2022-07-18/



(Reuters) - Turkey will freeze Finland and Sweden's NATO membership bids if the Nordic countries do not keep promises on counter-terrorism made last month, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, adding he believed Sweden was "not showing a good image" for now.

Finland and Sweden applied for membership of the defence alliance in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but were met with opposition from Turkey, which accused the Nordic countries of supporting groups it deems terrorists.

The three countries signed an accord at the NATO summit in Madrid last month to lift Ankara's veto in exchange for pledges on counter-terrorism and arms exports. Turkey has said it will closely monitor the implementation of the accord to ratify their membership bids.

[PortTack]

1. Yes, yes...he wants his pound of flesh

[Demsrule86]

6. Turkey does not belong in NATO...and should be kicked out.

[Celerity]

8. sea access to the Black Sea's HUGE (Turkey 100% controls it via the the Dardanelles & the Bosphorus)

It would be geo-strategically disastrous to lose that. It would rapidly become a Russian pond.

[C_U_L8R]

2. Pulling a Manchin, eh?

[DickKessler]

4. Ha! Good comparison.

[DFW]

3. Erdogan meets with Putin in Tehran, and suddenly, *poof*

Zimzalabim, Kurdish terrorists are all over Sweden and Finland again.

Pure coincidence in the timing, no doubt

[Turbineguy]

5. Pure coincidence

requires really good planning.

[48656c6c6f20]

7. His advisor Mehmet Cengiz Oz

Is probably giving him this advice on instructions from the Great Orange Annulus of Magat-a-LargeAss