Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for a revival of Turkey’s accession negotiations with the EU in return for his approval of Sweden’s entry into NATO.
Before leaving for the NATO summit, Erdogan set the following condition for EU countries in Istanbul on Monday: “First, we will pave Turkey’s way to the European Union, then we will pave the way to Sweden, just as we paved it for Finland .”
The statement comes as a surprise. So far, Erdogan had given the main reason for Turkey’s blockade of NATO accession, namely Sweden’s inadequate action against “terrorist organizations” from a Turkish perspective.
In view of the Russian offensive war against Ukraine, Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022. Finland was welcomed as the 31st member of the alliance in early April, while Sweden had not yet received approval from Turkey and Hungary.
The EU had already started accession negotiations with Turkey in 2005. However, these were put on hold a few years ago because Brussels saw unacceptable developments in the area of the rule of law. (sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
