130. That's the number of suspected terrorists Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Sweden and Finland need to deport or extradite, to secure their bid to join NATO. On Sunday, President Erdogan said the Turkish parliament could not ratify the Scandinavian countries' desire to join the alliance, unless they fulfil the commitments made last June to crack down on terror groups like the PKK operating on their soil.

Tensions between Türkiye and Sweden worsened over recent demonstrations by PKK supporters in Stockholm. Last week, Ankara summoned Sweden's ambassador after an effigy of President Erdogan was hanged at a protest. A Swedish prosecutor said on Monday that no investigation would be launched into the incident. Sweden and Finland both applied to join NATO last year following Russia's attack on Ukraine. Meanwhile Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was in Washington this week, where he called for the sale of F-16s to be expedited. Some NATO members and US lawmakers have tried to directly link Türkiye's support for Sweden and Finland's NATO bid, with the approval of the F-16 sale, a move Ankara says it firmly rejects.

Guests:

Mehmet Celik

Editorial Coordinator at Daily Sabah

Mark Meirowitz

Political Analyst