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(Istanbul = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Seung-wook = Turkey, which showed a negative attitude toward Sweden and Finland’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said, “It is not closed.”
“We are not going to close our doors,” Ibrahim Karn, a spokesman for the Turkish presidential office, said on the 14th (local time), “but we see this as a Turkish national security issue.
Sweden and Finland are seeking to join NATO following Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
However, according to NATO regulations, membership in a new member state is possible only with the unanimous consent of the existing member states.
If Turkey, a member of NATO, opposes Finland and Sweden’s accession, their attempts to join NATO are highly likely to fail.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the day before that “Scandinavian countries are like guesthouses for terrorist groups” and “cannot be positive for their membership in NATO.”
“There are terrorist groups like the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Swedish parliament,” he added.
The PKK is an armed organization that insists on segregation and independence of the Kurds living in southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syria. The Turkish government views the PKK as the biggest security threat.
“The PKK is financed in Europe, and its presence is strong and recognized, especially in Sweden,” Karn said.
“Just as they (Sweden and Finland) are concerned regarding their own security, we are also concerned regarding our security,” he said.
“This is the point where we want to arouse the attention of all allies, not just the Swedish authorities,” he added.
[EPA 연합뉴스 자료사진. 재판매 및 DB 금지]
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