An accord signed with Finland and Sweden to lift Turkey's veto on their NATO membership bids is not the end of the matter and obliges the Nordic states to keep their promises, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was cited as saying on Friday.
After four hours of talks in Madrid on Tuesday, Erdoğan and his Finnish and Swedish counterparts agreed on a series of security measures in return for backing by Ankara, which had raised concerns about terrorism and arms embargoes.
Speaking to reporters on a flight back from the NATO summit in Madrid, Erdoğan said there was no need to rush ratifying the two bids in Parliament. Ankara should first see if they keep promises made under the memorandum, including on extraditing suspects sought by Turkey, he said.
"This should be known: These signatures don't mean the issue is done ... Without our Parliament's approval, this does not go into effect. So there is no need to rush," Erdoğan said.
"The ball is in their court now. Sweden and Finland are not NATO members currently," he added.
Erdoğan said the decisions taken at Madrid will bear fruit in time.
"Promises that were made are of course important but the main point is the implementation," he said on the landmark memorandum signed between Finland, Sweden and Turkey.
With the signing of the memorandum, Turkey lifted an objection to the Nordic countries' NATO bid. In return, Finland and Sweden will address Turkey's terrorism concerns.
However, Erdoğan said Turkey will be cautious as "a country that has repeatedly been stabbed in the back in its fight against terrorism."
"We will closely monitor whether the promises made to our country are fulfilled in the coming period," he further said.
