Leaving NATO should be on agenda: MHP leader

ANKARA

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli said on May 24 that Turkey might consider leaving NATO as a choice if the conditions on the issue of Finland and Sweden’s NATO bid do not meet Ankara’s security concerns.

“Turkey is not without options. Even leaving NATO should be put on the agenda as an alternative if the circumstances become inextricable. We did not exist because of NATO, we will not perish without NATO,” Bahçeli said, addressing his party members in parliament.

Turkey will not ignore the roles of other countries in the PKK attacks, the MHP leader said, citing Finland and Sweden.

“How can we be tolerant of these states that still have terrorists roaming their streets? Sweden is the control room of the separatist terrorist group in Northern Europe,” Bahçeli stated.

He also criticized Finland and Sweden for imposing the defense industries export ban.

“Is it reasonable to be together with the criminal countries that impose an arms embargo on Turkey?” he asked.

“Turkey will not be a colonized country. No one should attempt to threaten Turkey,” Bahçeli added.

There is no indication that Sweden and Finland will make “a sharp turn” in their decisions until the NATO Leaders’ Summit takes place, which will be held in Madrid at the end of June, the politician said.

“Ankara’s criteria should be put into action immediately in the face of the inclusion of Sweden and Finland in NATO by putting Turkey under pressure and the imposition of making the process a fait accompli,” Bahçeli stated.

He recalled that Turkey has been a member of NATO since 1952. “However, Turkey has been treated as NATO’s outpost country in the east,” he said.

“If Turkey’s objections are not taken seriously, it means that its presence in NATO is not taken seriously and is not respected,” Bahçeli added.