Turkey will reject the applications of Sweden and Finland for membership in NATO, as all 30 NATO members must approve new countries one day after they are submitted.
The Turkish President gave a speech in Ankara on May 18, 2022. The picture was taken by Mustafa Kaya/ Xinhua.
In a video posted to his account, Erdogan said that Turkey would not allow its allies to join NATO.
As he spoke to a group of Turkish youth in the video, Erdogan added "we will continue on our path like this."
Turkey blocked a fast-track effort to begin talks on the bids of Sweden and Finland hours after they submitted their applications to join NATO.
Turkey's opposition began on Friday when it was announced that Turkey was not in favor of Sweden joining due to their support of Kurdish groups.
Turkey has accused Sweden of supplying weapons to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which it denies, while Sweden has offered support to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Turkish officials have tried to clarify Erdogan's comments over the past week, with Ibrahim Kalin saying on Saturday that Turkey isn't attempting to block the bids entirely. Turkey isn't saying they can't be NATO members, but the sooner we can reach an agreement, the better.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters that Turkey's intentions are not to block membership.
President Joe Biden is having a meeting with the Prime Minister of Sweden and the President of the Finns at the White House. In a statement on Wednesday, Biden said that by joining NATO, they would benefit the entire alliance.
Turkey blocks the start of talks about NATO applications.
The historic moment is that Finland and Sweden apply to join NATO.
Turkey doesn't want Sweden to join NATO, says the president.
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