Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said - today, Saturday - that time is running out regarding Turkey's ratification of Sweden and Finland's requests to join NATO before elections are held in the country.
He added that Turkey's ratification of the two countries' requests depends on how quickly Stockholm fulfills the "fighting terrorism" promises made in the framework of an agreement with Ankara, warning that this may take months.
A spokesman for the Turkish president also indicated that "Sweden is fully committed to implementing the agreement signed last year in Madrid," explaining that it needs another 6 months to draft new laws that would "allow the judicial system to apply the new interpretations of terrorism."
Referring to the expected Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections next May, Kalin said that there is a problem of time "if they want to join the alliance before its next summit."
A spokesman for President Erdogan stressed - in a press conference in Istanbul - that the Swedish government should have sent a clear message to "terrorist organizations" that Sweden is no longer a safe haven for them, and that they "will not be able to raise funds, recruit members and engage in other activities."
He also said that given that the Turkish Parliament will go into recess sometime before the elections, "you have two to two-and-a-half months to do all this."
Turkey's parliament must ratify Ankara's decision on membership of the two Scandinavian countries, with both expected to be voted on at the same time.
On June 28 of last year, Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding regarding the two countries' accession to NATO, after they pledged to respond to Ankara's demands regarding cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
Turkey says the two northern European countries are harboring individuals linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and followers of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of masterminding the July 15, 2016 coup attempt.
The accession of a country to NATO requires the unanimous approval of all 30 member states of the alliance.