'The stakes here are now massive': Turkey threatens to block NATO membership for Sweden and Finland
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks ahead of the peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine at Dolmabahce Presidential Office in Istanbul, Turkiye on March 29, 2022.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has doubled down on his opposition to Sweden and Finland joining the NATO alliance, a move that would be historic for the two Nordic countries in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"We will not say 'yes' to those [countries] who apply sanctions to Turkey to join security organization NATO," Erdogan said at a press conference late Monday. He was referring to Sweden's suspension of weapons sales to Turkey in 2019 over its military activities in Syria. Sweden's foreign ministry said Monday that it planned to send senior officials from both Sweden and Finland to Turkish capital Ankara to address Erdogan's objections. But the Turkish leader essentially said they'd be wasting their time.
"Will they come to persuade us? Excuse us, but they shouldn't bother," Erdogan said. He added that the two countries joining would make NATO "a place where representatives of terrorist organizations are concentrated." Finland's foreign ministry responded to a CNBC request for comment, saying that it "implements the UN as well as the EU terrorism sanctions against any person or entity … in accordance with EU legislation" and that "the EU and Turkey have regular dialogues on counterterrorism issues." CNBC has also reached out to the Swedish government for comment.
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