Türkiye to monitor steps taken by Sweden before ratifying its NATO bid: Erdogan

ANKARA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that his country would monitor Sweden's counterterrorism steps before ratifying its NATO bid at the parliament.

"We will follow the (implementation of) promises and guarantees given by the Swedish side... and take action according to the steps Sweden takes," Erdogan told reporters on his flight back to Türkiye, according to the state-run TRT broadcaster.

"It will be in Sweden's favor if the Nordic country takes concrete steps in the fight against terrorist organizations and the extradition of terrorists," the president noted.

The NATO accession process requires the approval of all member states. Sweden and Finland applied to join the military alliance last year but faced objections from Türkiye, which argued that the two countries harbor members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party and the Gulen movement.

Ankara eventually lifted its objection to Finland's NATO bid in March this year.

Türkiye agreed to advance Sweden's accession to NATO on July 10, just ahead of a summit of the military alliance. The Turkish parliament will vote on the Nordic country's NATO membership in October.