Turkey won't support Sweden's NATO bid unless anti-Turkish protests are stopped: Erdogan

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said that Ankara won't change its approach towards Sweden's NATO membership bid at the summit of the Western alliance next month unless anti-Turkey protests stop in Stockholm.

"Turkey cannot approach the NATO bid of Sweden positively while terroristscontinue their protests in Stockholm, and the position of Turkey would be made clear once talks are again held with Swedish officials in Ankara on Wednesday," President Erdogan was quoted as saying to the reporters on a flight which returned from Azerbaijan on Tuesday.

The comments were made by Erdogan before the officials from Turkey, Sweden, Finland and NATO held talks in Ankara on Wednesday with the aim of trying to overcome objections of Turkey that have delayed the NATO membership bid of Sweden.

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“Sweden’s expectations don’t mean we’ll meet them,” said Erdogan, while speaking to the Turkish media. “Sweden must, first of all, eradicate what this terrorist organisation is doing. In this picture, we can’t have a positive approach," he added.

The remarks of Erdogan suggest his reluctance to approve NATO membership of Sweden which is likely tocontinue even after the upcoming summit of the alliance in Vilnius, Lithuania, next month.

In April, Finland was given the approval to join NATO after Turkey ratified its bid in March.

Sweden compliant with Madrid agreement?

Sweden has continued to claim that it is in compliance with an agreement finalised at NATO’s summit in Madrid a year ago, which permitted the process to move ahead. On June 1, a new anti-terrorism law was enforced in Sweden, but Erdogan said that the country has not been able to anti-Turkey protests so far.

Speaking on Sweden's legal changes, Erdogan stated, "This is not only a matter of a law amendment or a constitutional change. What is the job of the police there? They have legal and constitutional rights, they should exercise their rights. The police should prevent these (protests)."

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Effective Crackdown

Turkish President Erdogan appealed to the security forces of Sweden to carry out an effective crackdown on Kurdish militants to fully complywith the agreement signed in Madrid.

“There are rights already given to security forces under laws, the constitution. Use those rights,” Erdogan stated as he recalled the battle of Turkey against separatist Kurdish militants in southeast Turkey. “If you are not going to use those rights then where is NATO’s struggle against terrorism? NATO must solve this. Otherwise, we would not say ‘fine’ in Vilnius," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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