Türkiye warns Finland, Sweden must ‘take steps’ before NATO approval

ISTANBUL

Türkiye will not formally approve Finland and Sweden’s membership of NATO until the two countries take the necessary "steps", Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg on Nov. 4. 

Ankara says the two Nordic nations provide a safe haven for PKK terrorists and held back on ratifying their NATO membership despite an agreement in June.

"President Erdoğan noted that the steps to be taken by Sweden and Finland would determine how fast the approval process... would go and when it would be concluded," the Turkish presidency said.

Erdoğan and Stoltenberg held a private meeting in Istanbul that was closed to the media.

Finland and Sweden dropped decades of military non-alignment and scrambled to become NATO members in May, after Russia invaded Ukraine.

But Erdoğan threatened to block their bids and sought concessions, leading to a deal in June between Türkiye, Finland and Sweden that included provisions on extraditions and sharing information.

New Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will visit Ankara on Tuesday to meet with Erdoğan in a trip that Stockholm hopes will lead to Türkiye’s approval.

Stoltenberg "welcomed the major, concrete steps already taken by both countries to put the memorandum into practice, and stressed that their accession will make NATO stronger", the alliance said in a statement on Friday.

On Thursday, the NATO secretary general said Finland and Sweden’s accession was important "to send a clear message to Russia" during a press conference with the Turkish foreign minister.

All 30 NATO member states except Türkiye and Hungary have ratified the accession of Sweden and Finland.

New members to the alliance require unanimous approval.