Erdogan says Turkey may block Sweden's Nato membership bid

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested that Ankara whitethorn hold to Finland joining Nato, but not Sweden.

He criticised Sweden's refusal to extradite dozens of radical allegedly tied to Kurdish militant groups and different critics of his government.

"If you perfectly privation to articulation Nato, you volition instrumentality these terrorists to us," said Mr Erdogan.

His comments travel days aft Turkey suspended talks to judge the 2 Nordic nations arsenic members.

The determination was prompted by a bid of arguable protests successful Stockholm, including 1 during which a transcript of the Koran was burned.

Swedish officials person condemned the protests, but defended the country's escaped code laws.

In effect to Russia's penetration of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland applied to articulation Nato past year, ending decades of subject non-alignment.

Their exertion indispensable beryllium unanimously approved by each existent Nato members, but Turkey and Hungary person failed to ratify their bids.

In his speech, Mr Erdogan suggested Turkey mightiness present "give a antithetic effect concerning Finland," adding that "Sweden volition beryllium shocked".

"We gave Sweden a database of 120 persons and told them to extradite those terrorists successful their country," said Mr Erdogan. "If you don't extradite them, past atrocious astir that."

Sweden has a larger Kurdish diaspora than Finland, and its talks with Ankara implicit Nato rank person been heated.

Turkey has called connected Sweden to region itself from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is regarded arsenic a violent radical by Turkey, the US and the EU.

In response, Sweden approved a law amendment which allows it to make tougher anti-terror laws demanded by Turkey.

Both Sweden and Finland person besides lifted bans connected the merchantability of subject instrumentality to Turkey, introduced aft Ankara's subject involution successful Syria successful 2019.

Earlier this month, Mr Erdogan said Turkish elections had been brought guardant by a period to 14 May.

The diplomat besides stressed his state should articulation astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic Sweden - appearing to backtrack connected his earlier proposition that Finland could beryllium forced to articulation without its Nordic neighbour.