Turkey threatens not to approve Sweden’s NATO bid if ‘terrorists’ not extradited

Ankara, May 19 : Turkey will not approve Swedens NATO membership if the country does not extradite "terrorists" upon Turkish request, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

"Supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Syrias Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) terrorist organisations and asking us for support for NATO membership is, to say the least, inconsistent.

We asked Sweden to return 30 terrorists, but they refused to do so," Erdogan added on Wednesday while addressing his partys lawmakers."We cannot say yes to making this security organisation deprived of security," the President said.

Erdogan also told Sweden and Finland delegations not to bother coming to Ankara to convince it to approve their NATO bids, Xinhua news agency reported.The blocs expansion can be "meaningful" if it respects the member states sensitivities, the Turkish President noted, urging other NATO members to "respect" Turkeys concerns about Finland and Swedens intention to join the alliance.

Finland and Sweden on Wednesday formally submitted their membership applications to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.Turkey has accused both nations of supporting "terrorist organisations," referring to the PKK and YPG.Helsinki and Stockholm have reportedly rejected or dismissed Ankaras request for the extradition of "terrorists".int/khz/ #Turkey #threatens #approve #Swedens #NATO #Kara #Bid #Turkish.