Turkish President: We will not change our stance on Sweden's and Finland's NATO Bids

Ankara, June 15 (QNA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Confirmed, on Wednesday, that turkey will not switch its stance on Swedens and Finlands application to join the NATO, until the countries take a clear and firm step to counter terrorism.
Erdogan mentioned that turkey owns considerable experience in turning crises it has faced in the past 20 years into its advantage and creating opportunities out of it, stressing that this applies to economy, pointing out that his government was striving to overcome the negative effects of the war in Ukraine on the world economy, with minimal losses.
Turkey's current account surplus, excluding energy and gold, reached USD 37 billion during the first four months of this year, he said, "Over the last 12 months we have reached a level of nearly USD 14 billion in foreign direct investment." Turkey had reached the highest level in its history, employing 30.4 million people, and had achieved annual export records of USD 243 billion.
Sweden and Finland applied to join the NATO in May, but the applications were opposed by turkey.
Erdogan has previously stated that turkeys approving Swedens and Finlands NATO membership application depends on the extent to which these two countries consider Turkey's national security concerns, Specifically, halting any Support to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which turkey classifies it as a terrorist organization.
Sweden has taken important steps to meet Turkey's demands for approving Stockholm's NATO membership application, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday. (QNA)