Turkey not to allow Nordic country’s NATO bid as long as “terrorists” take part in parliaments: Erdoğan

As long as the "terrorists take part in their parliaments", Turkey will not allow them to enter NATO, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on June 8 elaborating on Sweden and Finland's bid to join the alliance.

"As you all know, Sweden, at the moment, is a country where the PKK/YPG/PYD terrorist organization runs rampant. Even in their parliaments, there are terrorists," Erdoğan said speaking at a joint press conference with Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro.

"As long as these terrorists remain in their parliaments, and as long as terrorist organizations continue to hold demonstrations with the pictures of terrorist leaders in the streets of Stockholm, and as long as they do this under the protection of the Swedish police, and as long as Swedish state television continues to broadcast interviews with terrorist leaders, we cannot tell them 'Go ahead, please, join NATO'," the president stated.

The same goes for Finland, too, he said noting that the Nordic country is also "engaged in many similar activities, unfortunately."

One should keep in mind that NATO is an organization of security, it is not an organization that "facilitates terror," he stated.

Stressing that Turkey does not want to experience, with Sweden and Finland, what it experienced with Greece and France, President Erdoğan said, "Greece had left NATO and our predecessors let it rejoin. France rejoined. What happened? "

He questioned the military bases established by the United States on the Greek territories.

"Where are the 5+4, that is 9 U.S. bases right now? They were established in Greece. Against whom were they established? The answer they give is 'Against Russia.' We don't buy it, take no offence," Erdogan said.

He pointed out that Greece...