Dogu Perincek, the leader of Turkey's leftist Motherland Party, urged the parliament on Thursday to reject Finland and Sweden's bids to join NATO, whose expansion he said posed a threat to his country
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th March, 2023) Dogu Perincek, the leader of Turkey's leftist Motherland Party, urged the parliament on Thursday to reject Finland and Sweden's bids to join NATO, whose expansion he said posed a threat to his country.
"NATO's eastward expansion is a growing threat to Turkey. NATO is Turkey's enemy. Vote 'no' to the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland ... Be representatives of Turkey, not of NATO," he said in a video address posted online.
The anti-US Kemalist party holds large sway in the country but is not represented in the Turkish parliament, which will vote later in the day on whether to approve Finland's accession after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave it a go-ahead on March 17. Stockholm's parallel accession process has been deadlocked over the recent Quran-burning protests in Sweden.
