Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu criticized Finland and Sweden for supporting the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the People's Defense Units (YPG) as he arrived in Berlin on Saturday for a NATO meeting with his counterparts, Teletrader reported.

The problem is that these two countries are openly supporting and interacting with the PKK and YPG. These are terrorist organizations that attack our troops every day, the minister said, adding that Turkish citizens are putting pressure on the country to block Sweden and Finland from joining the alliance precisely because they support the PKK and the YPG.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan surprised NATO members and two Scandinavian countries applying for membership by saying on Friday that Turkey cannot support the expansion of the alliance, since Finland and Sweden are home to many terrorist organizations.

Now the United States and other member countries are trying to clarify Ankara's position.

Sweden and its closest military partner, Finland, have so far remained outside NATO, which was founded in 1949 to counter the Soviet Union in the Cold War. Both countries are wary of feuding with their large neighbor, but their security fears have intensified since Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

After that, Erdogan's press secretary, Ibrahim Kalin, said that Turkey does not close the door for Sweden and Finland to join NATO, but wants negotiations with the Scandinavian countries and the limitation of terrorist activities, especially in Stockholm.