'Until promises are kept...': Erdogan threatens to veto Finland and Sweden's NATO bid

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday renewed his warnings that Ankara will not ratify the NATO membership bids of Sweden and Finland unless the two Nordic countries fulfil their obligations and extradite the pro-Kurdistan terrorists. "Until the promises made to our country are kept, we will maintain our principled position," Erdogan asserted in a speech to parliament on Saturday.

Erdogan threatens to veto Finland, and Sweden's NATO membership

Erdogan threatened that he would veto Finland, and Sweden's NATO membership if they continue to provide safe havens for Kurdish terror operatives in Turkey and for promoting what he labelled as "terrorism." The two Nordic countries' membership has to be approved by all 30 NATO members for them to be formally incorporated into the western military alliance. Both Turkey and Hungary are yet to approve the membership bids in their parliaments through ratification. 

"We are closely following whether the promises made by Sweden and Finland are kept or not, and of course, the final decision will be up to our great parliament," said Turkish President Erdogan, without delving into further details. 

Erdogan, President Sauli Niinistö of Finland and Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden had signed a trilateral memorandum to address Ankara's legitimate security concerns, paving the way for Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership during the NATO summit in Madrid hosted in June. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had declared, “We now have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO" as both Sweden and Finland abandoned their long-held nonaligned status and applied to join NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine. 

Erdogan, although, called on Sweden and Finland to fulfil their promises before the ratification of the security deal in the Turkish parliament. "If they do not fulfil promised obligations, the memorandum will not reach the Turkish parliament for approval," he was quoted as saying. The two Nordic states, at the time, pledged to distance themselves from groups such as PKK that the Turkish government deems as terrorist organisations. The Turkish leader called the move a "diplomatic victory" for Ankara, one that is beneficial for Turkey's own national interests.

While Erdogan had stated that Turkey's "delicate issues" were taken into account by NATO in the 10-article agreement, he had warned that Ankara will monitor the implementation of the memorandum signed with Sweden and Finland. He had particularly emphasised the extradition of terror suspects with links to outlawed Kurdish groups or a network of exiled clerics accused of the failed coup in Turkey.