Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke to the governments of Finland and Sweden for the first time over the weekend about his threat to oppose the countries’ accession to NATO.
Turkey is now apparently targeting Sweden in the dispute over NATO’s northern expansion and is more lenient with Finland. This is indicated after the first talks between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the governments of both countries since the dispute began last week.
In a phone call with Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson over the weekend, Erdoğan cited conditions not to block expansion. He criticized Sweden’s “contact” with people and organizations associated with the Kurdish terrorist group PKK, and the movement led by Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, responsible for the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, operates in Sweden. In fact, the country has granted asylum to many Turkish opposition figures.