Erdoğan threatens to freeze NATO accession of Sweden and Finland

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Monday that Turkey will freeze the accession process of Sweden and Finland to NATO if Turkey’s conditions are not fulfilled by the two countries.

Following a meeting of the presidential cabinet, Erdoğan said in a live address :

“We attended the NATO summit 27 June, and expressed plainly that NATO’ expansion should be in harmony with the sensitivities of our country. I want to remind that we will freeze the accession process if Sweden and Finland do not take the necessary steps to fulfill our conditions. We observe that Sweden is not doing well. Our stance is very clear, the rest is up to them.”

Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed a deal 28 June that clears the way for the two Nordic countries to become NATO members in return for their assurance to prosecute and extradite Kurdish activists allegedly affiliated with Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), not support the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in north Syria, and to end arms embargoes imposed on Turkey after its occupation of Syrian territories in 2019.