Erdogan Stays Defiant On Delay to Sweden’s Bid to Join NATO

Turkey concerned about Kurdish separatist group in Sweden
Erdogan is main NATO opponent to Sweden joining the group

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Jens Stoltenberg in New York on Sept. 18.Source: Turkish Presidency

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By Selcan Hacaoglu and Beril Akman

September 18, 2023 at 5:43 PM UTC

Updated on

September 19, 2023 at 2:26 PM UTC

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a top aide said approval for Sweden’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has yet to be discussed in parliament amid ongoing concerns related to a Kurdish militant group.

“There is an issue that Sweden is not keeping its promises,” Erdogan said at a roundtable discussion with think-tanks and media in New York Monday, adding that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, is allowed to “protest in the streets of Stockholm.”