The Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan He said it was impossible for NATO member Turkey to support Sweden and Finland's plans to join the alliance, saying the Nordic countries were "home to many terrorist organizations".

Finland's plan to apply for NATO membership, announced yesterday, and expectations that Sweden will do the same, will lead to the expansion of the Western military alliance, which is opposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We are following the developments in Sweden and Finland, but we do not have a positive attitude," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul, adding that it was a mistake for Greece to be accepted as a NATO member in the past.

Turkey has officially supported enlargement since joining NATO 70 years ago.

Any enlargement decision must be taken with the unanimous support of all Member States.

"Like Turkey, we do not want to repeat similar mistakes. "In addition, the Scandinavian countries are home to terrorist organizations," Erdogan said.

"In some countries there are even MPs. "It is not possible for us to support that."

The Swedish Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment on Erdogan's statement.

NATO says membership is open to any "European country in a position to promote the principles of the Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area".