Sweden, Finland NATO’s Bid Will Not Be Approved If Promises Are Not Kept — Turkey

Turkey has said Sweden and Finland cannot enter the NATO alliance if the Turkish Parliament does not ratify their membership applications.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Monday that Sweden and Finland have to comply with the memorandum, warning that they will not be accepted into NATO if they do not comply.

The minister said: "It will not be limited to just three countries. This is a written commitment. We wanted them to be written and signed.

"Neither of these two countries can enter NATO, unless it is passed by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). The memorandum of understanding is the commitment of the three countries."

Çavuşoğlu added that Turkey had two main objectives it sought to tackle, which are the activities of terrorist groups such as the PKK and the arms embargo imposed on Turkey.

He reiterated that Sweden, Finland and NATO allies must respect Turkey's national security concerns and added that the two Nordic countries' leaders and senior officials accepted that they will not provide any support to terrorist groups.

The deal also states that Finland and Sweden will work closely with Turkey on issues related to the exchange of information, extradition and, in general, the fight against terrorism.

New countries’ membership applications must be approved by all NATO member states and ratified by the countries’ respective parliaments.