Erdogan sees memorandum with Sweden, Finland as Türkiye's victory

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described as Türkiye's victory the memorandum signed with Sweden and Finland over their application to join NATO.

He made the statement at a press conference following the results of the North Atlantic Alliance summit on June 30 in Madrid, Anadolu Agency reports.

"The trilateral declaration with Sweden and Finland is a diplomatic victory for Türkiye and the Turkish people following the results of a difficult negotiation process," he said.

According to Erdogan, Ankara's stance on Sweden and Finland's NATO membership applications demonstrates Turkey's "red line" on the issue of terrorism.

He stressed that all NATO countries should take a unified and firm stand against terrorism and expand cooperation in the fight against this evil.

"It is very important for the NATO bloc to demonstrate its determination to fight any form of terrorism. Moreover, this determination should be manifested in real actions, and not remain on paper," the Turkish leader said.

The head of state recalled that Türkiye has been fighting the separatists of the PKK terrorist organisation for 40 years.

"Thousands of sons and daughters of Türkiye died in the fight against terrorists. We have no patience and no time left to wait. We will not allow the processes to be delayed," he stressed.