Turkey's Erdogan renew warnings, will not ratify Sweden, Finland's NATO accessions

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed his warning on Saturday that Turkey would not ratify the accession bids of Finland and Sweden to NATO until "promises made to our country are kept". Speaking at the opening session of the Turkish Parliament after a season of recess, Erdogan insisted that the Nordic pair change their stance on Kurdish rebel groups that Turkey considers as terrorists.

NATO accession must be agreed unanimously by all member countries. Turkey's stance created a deadlock that could only be broken by a three-way deal between the countries. Erdogan had demanded that Finland and Sweden extradite wanted individuals and lift arms restrictions imposed after Turkey's 2019 military incursion into northeast Syria.

Turkey, in turn, had agreed "to support at the 2022 Madrid Summit the invitation of Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO." "We made sure our expectations were on the record in the fight against terrorism. We meticulously monitor whether Sweden and Finland fulfill their commitments," Erdogan said.