Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a ceremony to mark an increase in capacity at a natural gas storage facility in Silivri near Istanbul, Turkey, December 16, 2022. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
Reuters: Sweden, Finland must send up to 130 "terrorists" to Turkey for NATO bid
ANKARA (Reuters) -Sweden and Finland must deport or extradite up to 130 "terrorists" to Turkey before the Turkish parliament will approve their bids to join NATO, President Tayyip Erdogan said.
The two Nordic states applied last year to join NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine but their bids must be approved by all 30 NATO member states.
Turkey and Hungary have yet to endorse the applications.
Turkey has said Sweden in particular must first take a clearer stance against what it sees as terrorists, mainly Kurdish militants and a group it blames for a 2016 coup attempt.
"We said look, so if you don't hand over your terrorists to us, we can't pass it (approval of the NATO application) through the parliament anyway," Erdogan said in comments late on Sunday, referring to a joint press conference he held with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson last November.
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Update #1: 'Hand over your terrorists': Turkey ramps up pressure on NATO hopefuls Sweden and Finland (Euronews)
Update #2: Turkey President Erdogan keeps the world guessing on NATO expansion (Bloomberg)
WNU Editor: The Swedes continue to be optimistic that Turkey will drop their objections to Sweden joining NATO .... Sweden and Turkey give mixed messages over NATO bid (DW).
