Turkish nationalist leader floats idea of leaving NATO
Allowing Sweden and Finland into NATO would be tantamount to Turkey condoning terrorism and it should consider leaving the Alliance if necessary, the leader of the country’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has said.
“Their membership in NATO means ‘yes’ to terrorism. It is impossible for these two countries to become NATO members without the consent of Turkey. Turkey is not helpless. Even leaving NATO should be put on the agenda as an alternative choice. We did not come into existence with NATO, we will not perish without NATO,” Turkish media quoted Devlet Bahceli as telling a meeting of the MHP on Tuesday.
“Turkey’s legitimate objections to Sweden and Finland’s membership have not been taken into account,” said Bahceli, who is an ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accusing Sweden of providing assistance to and harboring Kurdish separatists.
“Sweden is the control room of separatist terror in Northern Europe,” he said, echoing objections expressed by Erdogan and other top Turkish officials.
“No matter who NATO makes members, the rise and expansion of the Turkish and Islamic spirit will radically change the global balances and leave regional calculations in the hands of their interlocutors,” Bahceli was quoted as saying.
