Erdogan says Sweden's, Finland's NATO memberships not done deal
The Turkish president says that while the two countries are invited to join NATO, the possibility of a veto remains if they don't keep their promises.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made clear that Sweden and Finland’s NATO accession was far from a done deal a day after shelving threats of a veto and allowing the Nordic countries' memberships to proceed.
“The agreement that was signed is just a beginning, an invitation. What is of essence is that promises that were made are put into action,” Erdogan said at a news conference in Madrid today on the sidelines of the NATO summit. He was referring to a document that he signed Tuesday with the Swedish premier and Finnish president in which both agreed to end their support for the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and its political arm, the Democratic Unity Party (PYD), which Turkey says pose a threat to its national security. In exchange, Turkey agreed to withdraw threats to block their memberships in the alliance.
Why it matters: Turkey could still, in theory, put the kibosh on the Scandinavians because approval of their membership needs to be put before the legislatures of NATO states before becoming final. “This deal won’t materialize unless it's approved by our parliament,” Erdogan warned. “Sweden and Finland must remain faithful to their pledges; otherwise, it is out of the question that [their memberships] would be brought before [the Turkish] parliament.”
Erdogan said Turkey would be scrutinizing Finland's and Sweden’s actions with an eagle eye, adding that they had pledged to extradite 73 “terrorists” wanted by Turkey. Many are believed to be associated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Pennsylvania-based Sunni preacher Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of masterminding the 2016 putsch to overthrow Erdogan.
