Sweden and Finland have to comply with a recent memorandum signed with Turkey to be part of NATO, the Turkish foreign minister said on Monday.
“If they do not comply, we will not accept them into NATO,” Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said during a live interview with Turkish broadcaster NTV.
War in Ukraine triggered the two countries’ decision
Sweden and Finland shunned neutrality and applied to join NATO in May, a decision spurred by Russia’s war on Ukraine.
But Turkey, a longstanding member of the alliance, voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.
Ahead of the NATO summit last week, Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed the agreement after four-way talks including NATO in Madrid.
NATO’s invitation to Sweden, Finland
The agreement allows the two Nordic countries to become NATO members, but conditions them to take steps on Turkey’s terrorism concerns and lift an arms embargo on Ankara.
Following the trilateral deal, NATO formally invited Sweden and Finland to join the 30-member military alliance.