Turkey said on Wednesday that it was waiting for a "written response" from Sweden and Finland to Ankara's objections to their NATO bids.

"We have transmitted our questions in writing to these two countries," Turkey Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters.

"Now we're waiting for their written responses," he said.

The two Nordic countries reversed decades of military non-alignment by applying for NATO memberships in May, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Any NATO membership deal must, however, be unanimously approved by all 30 members of the alliance, and Turkey has thrown a spanner in the works and blocked their bids.

Ankara is accusing the Nordic neighbours of providing a safe haven for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a "terrorist" group by Turkey and its Western allies.

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told members of his party on Wednesday that "as long as Sweden and Finland don't adopt concrete measures on the fight against terrorism, our position will not change."

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday, during a visit to Sweden, that NATO was working "hard and actively" to resolve Turkey's concerns "as soon as possible".

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin acknowledged on Tuesday that the Nordic bids could stall if agreement with Turkey is not reached before a summit later in June.

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Sweden safer now than before NATO bid says NATO chief as talk drag on
Harpsund, Sweden (AFP) June 13, 2022
Sweden is safer now than before it applied for NATO membership, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday, even though it is in a grey zone with its application stalled by Turkey. Stoltenberg stressed that NATO allies had provided key assurances to protect Sweden in the interim period before it becomes a full member and can benefit from the alliance's Article 5 mutual defence agreement. "Seen from a security perspective, Sweden is in a better place now than before it applied", he said, adding: ... read more