NATO RECORDED PKK/PYD/YPG, FETÖ AS TERROR GROUPS FOR 1ST TIME, ERDOĞAN SAYS

Sat 02 July 2022:

As a result of Türkiye‘s efforts in Madrid, PKK/PYD/YPG and FETÖ were written off as terror groups in NATO‘s records for the first time, said the Turkish president on Friday.

Speaking to reporters while returning from the NATO summit, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the decisions taken at Madrid will bear fruit in time. “Promises are important, but the main thing is their implementation,” he said on the landmark memorandum signed between Finland, Sweden and Türkiye.

With the signing of the memorandum, Türkiye lifted an objection to the Nordic countries’ NATO bid. In return, Finland and Sweden will address Türkiye’s terrorism concerns.

However, Erdoğan said Türkiye will be cautious as “a country that has repeatedly been stabbed in the back in its fight against terrorism.”

“We will closely monitor whether the promises made to our country are fulfilled in the coming period,” he further said.

“From now on, it will be much more difficult for PKK and FETÖ members to make terrorist propaganda, attack our country and our citizens and vandalize,” he said.

Erdoğan said: “The ball is now in Sweden and Finland’s court. When there is any mistake, we already have undeniable documents and we will do what is necessary.”

“Sweden will extradite 73 terrorists to us. They have sent 3-4 of them so far, but that is not enough. The Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MIT (Turkish National Intelligence) will keep a firm grip on the issue,” he added.

Sweden and Finland formally applied to join the alliance last month, a decision spurred by Russia‘s war on Ukraine.

But Türkiye, a longstanding member of the alliance, voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has repeatedly said that Türkiye has “legitimate concerns related to their fight against the PKK terrorist group and other organizations,” and that the PKK is considered a terror organization by NATO, the EU, as well as Finland and Sweden.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is its Syrian offshoot.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Türkiye, in which 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured.

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