On October 25, 2021 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (left) and Finland's President Sauli Niinisto address a joint press conference after their meeting during the visit of The North Atlantic Council in Helsinki. Photo: VCG

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday confirmed Turkey's opposition to NATO membership for Finland and Sweden, again accusing them of failing to take a clear stance against terrorism.

"We will not say 'yes' to those [countries] who apply sanctions to Turkey to join security organization NATO," Erdogan said.

Sweden and Finland need each of NATO's 30 members to approve their applications. Sweden has suspended arms sales to Turkey since 2019 over Ankara's military operation in neighboring Syria. 

Turkey threatened to block the alliance's expansion, accusing them of harboring terror groups including outlawed Kurdish militants, blacklisted by Ankara, the EU and the United States. 

Turkey has rebuked Stockholm especially for showing what it describes as leniency toward the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a bloody insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.

At a news conference, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Sweden and Finland should not bother sending delegations to Ankara to persuade Turkey to support for their bids.

Referring to the Swedish and Finnish delegations' intentions to meet with Turkish officials, Erdogan said: "They say they will come to Turkey on Monday. Will they come to persuade us? Excuse us, but they shouldn't bother."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced confidence Sunday that Sweden and Finland would join NATO. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will meet with Blinken on Wednesday, where Ankara's objections are expected to figure high on the agenda.

Agencies