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Stockholm and Helsinki applied to join the Western defence
alliance last month in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine,
but they have faced opposition from Turkey, which has accused
them of supporting and harbouring Kurdish militants and other
groups it deems terrorists.
While Sweden and Finland have said talks with Turkey would
continue to resolve the dispute, Erdogan said on Wednesday that
Ankara had not received any proposals on its demands, which
include stopping support for groups Turkey considers terrorists,
extraditing suspects sought by Turkey, and lifting arms
embargoes on Ankara.
Ibrahim Kalin, Erdogan's spokesman and chief foreign policy
adviser, told Spain's El Pais daily that how Finland and Sweden
respond to Turkey's demands would determine whether progress can
be made ahead of a NATO summit in Madrid on June 29-30.
"It depends on what Sweden and Finland do," he said. "When we
see progress on our requests, then the process will advance.
NATO is not a tourism, nor economic alliance; it is a security
alliance, which means that it must provide security to all its
members equally and fairly."
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said during a visit to
Washington this week that he would convene senior officials from
Finland, Sweden and Turkey in Brussels in coming days to discuss
the issue.
A bid to join NATO requires backing from each of its 30 members.
Turkey, which has been a NATO ally for over 70 years, has said
it will not change its position unless the Nordic countries take
"concrete steps" about its concerns.
(Reporting by Orhan Coskun and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Daren
Butler and Nick Macfie)
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