OREANDA-NEWS "Ankara has clearly stated to the NATO and to the leaders of the two Scandinavian countries about Turkey's 'red lines' in the fight against terrorism. Turkey has made clear that if [Kurdish organizations] PYD/YPG and FETO [Fethullah Gulen Organization] are not clearly designated as terrorist organizations in NATO documents, Ankara will not change its stance. As a result, they [Finland and Sweden] were forced to accept our conditions," Erdogan was quoted as saying by Turkish news agency Anadolu.On June 28, Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed a memorandum committing them to full support in combating threats to each other's security.

Turkey said that all its existing concerns were addressed and withdrew its objections to Finland and Sweden joining NATO.Finland and Sweden abandoned their neutral stance after Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. Since then, both countries have taken the necessary steps to join NATO and their candidate status was unanimously approved during the alliance's summit in Madrid.