Erdogan: Nordic NATO Bid Could Still Be Nixed If Vows Unkept

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses media representatives during a press conference at the NATO summit at the Ifema congress center in Madrid, on June 30, 2022. (AFP)
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses media representatives during a press conference at the NATO summit at the Ifema congress center in Madrid, on June 30, 2022. (AFP)
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Erdogan: Nordic NATO Bid Could Still Be Nixed If Vows Unkept

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses media representatives during a press conference at the NATO summit at the Ifema congress center in Madrid, on June 30, 2022. (AFP)
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses media representatives during a press conference at the NATO summit at the Ifema congress center in Madrid, on June 30, 2022. (AFP)

Just two days after agreeing to lift deal-breaking objections to Sweden and Finland’s NATO accession, Turkey’s leader threatened Thursday that Ankara could still block the process if the two countries fail to fully meet his expectations.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the close of the alliance’s summit in Madrid that Tuesday night’s 10-article agreement with the Nordic pair was a victory for Ankara that addressed all its "sensitivities." He especially stressed Turkey’s demand that Sweden and Finland extradite terror suspects with links to outlawed Kurdish groups or the network of an exiled cleric accused of a failed 2016 coup in Turkey.

But Erdogan added that if the two Nordic states renege on their promises, Turkey’s Parliament could still not ratify the deal. NATO accession must be formally approved by all 30 member states, which gives each a blocking right.

"This business will not work if we don’t pass this in our parliament," Erdogan said. "First Sweden and Finland must fulfill their duties and those are already in the text ... But if they don’t fulfill these, then of course there is no way we would send it to our parliament."

Erdogan claimed that Sweden had promised to extradite 73 "terrorists" to Turkey and crack down on the financing and recruitment activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK - listed as a terrorist group by the US and the European Union - and linked groups. Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, an extension of the PKK.

The text of the memorandum sets no specific number on extraditions. It says the Nordic countries will address Turkey’s "pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects expeditiously and thoroughly, taking into account information, evidence and intelligence provided" by Turkey in accordance with the European Convention on Extradition.

On Wednesday, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said Sweden and Finland’s justice ministries have files from Turkey on 33 people with alleged links to PKK and the network of US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Journalists at Thursday’s news conference repeatedly pressed Erdogan about the extraditions and whether Sweden had actually promised the number he quoted.

"Of course what we understand is important from our meetings and talks," Erdogan said. "Sweden promised to give us these 73 people with this text. They may or they may not, we will follow that through the text and we will make our decision."

Erdogan also said the number of extraditions had been 60 but was updated to 73. There was no immediate response to requests for comments from the Swedish delegation at the summit in Madrid.

The Swedish government has sought to allay concerns that the deal would lead to extraditions to Turkey without due process.

"I know there are some people who are worried that we’re going to start to hunt people and extradite them and I think it’s important to say that we always follow Swedish laws and international conventions, and we never extradite Swedish citizens," Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told public broadcaster SVT on Wednesday.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto stressed that Helsinki pointed out that the memorandum does not list the names of individuals.

"In the case of extraditions, we will adhere to our own legislation and international agreements. Ultimately, extradition is a legal discretion which politicians have no right to influence," Niinisto said.

With the joint memorandum signed, NATO moved ahead with inviting the Nordic countries to the military alliance that seeks to enlarge and strengthen in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The most time consuming part of gaining NATO membership is the ratification of the applicants’ accession protocols by the alliance’s 30 member countries. It’s a process that involves national parliaments - and could take months.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday said that Germany will launch the process of ratifying the planned NATO membership of Sweden and Finland this week and will conclude it "very quickly."



Dutch Summon Israeli Ambassador, Impose Travel Ban on Ministers 

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir (C) attends a plenary session to vote on a bill for applying Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank territory, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 July 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir (C) attends a plenary session to vote on a bill for applying Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank territory, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 July 2025. (EPA)
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Dutch Summon Israeli Ambassador, Impose Travel Ban on Ministers 

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir (C) attends a plenary session to vote on a bill for applying Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank territory, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 July 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir (C) attends a plenary session to vote on a bill for applying Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank territory, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 July 2025. (EPA)

The Netherlands will ban two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country, in the latest European response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Gaza, the country's foreign minister said. 

The ban and other measures were announced in a letter Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp sent to lawmakers late Monday evening, declaring “The war in Gaza must stop.” 

The ban targets hard-line National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, key partners in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition. 

The pair are champions of the Israeli settlement movement who support continuing the war in Gaza, facilitating what they call the voluntary emigration of its Palestinian population and the building of Jewish settlements there. 

Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway imposed financial sanctions on the two men last month. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar delivered a formal reprimand to the ambassador of the Netherlands in response to the criticism. 

Saar said in a post on X that the Dutch government “chose to convert a long-standing friendship with Israel into open hostility towards it, precisely during its difficult time, probably out of political interests”. 

Later on Tuesday, leaders will meet in Brussels to discuss a European Union response, including evaluating a trade agreement between the bloc and Israel. The Netherlands wants part of that agreement to be suspended. 

Ben-Gvir and Smotrich remained defiant. In a statement on social media, Smotrich said European leaders were surrendering to “the lies of radical Islam” and that Jews may not be able to live safely in Europe in the future. 

Ben-Gvir said he will “continue to act” and said that in Europe “a Jewish minister from Israel is unwanted, terrorists are free, and Jews are boycotted.” 

Pressure has been mounting on the Dutch government, which is gearing up for elections in October, to change course on Israeli policy. Last week, thousands demonstrated at train stations across the country, carrying pots and pans to signify the food shortage in Gaza. 

The government will also summon the Israeli ambassador to the Netherlands to urge Netanyahu to change course and “immediately take measures that lead to a substantial and rapid improvement in the humanitarian situation throughout the Gaza Strip,” Veldkamp wrote. 

After international pressure, Israel over the weekend announced humanitarian pauses, airdrops and other measures meant to allow more aid to Palestinians in Gaza. But people there say little or nothing has changed on the ground. The UN has described it as a one-week scale-up of aid, and Israel has not said how long these latest measures would last. 

Israel asserts that Hamas is the reason aid isn’t reaching Palestinians in Gaza and accuses its fighters of siphoning off aid to support its rule in the territory. The UN denies that looting of aid is systematic and says it lessens or ends entirely when enough aid is allowed to enter Gaza. 

Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, are currently wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. The men are accused of using “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid, and of intentionally targeting civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. Member states of the ICC are obliged to arrest the men if they arrive on their territory.