Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is heading to this week’s NATO summit in Madrid and is threatening to veto Finland’s and Sweden’s attempts to join the Atlantic Alliance.

Ankara warns that it is not ready to lift its veto threat against their offer of NATO membership ahead of the alliance’s summit in Madrid on Tuesday.

Erdogan’s chief adviser Ibrahim Kalin, who spoke on Turkish television on Sunday, said the Turkish demands had not been met.

Kalin said that Turkey had brought the negotiations to a certain point and that it was not possible for Turkish leaders to take a step back. He said that Turkish diplomats told their counterparts and made it clear that the next step was up to them.

Erdogan wants Sweden and Finland to end their support for the Syrian-Kurdish fighters in the YPG, which is linked to the PKK group that has been fighting the Turkish forces for decades and which the Turkish government considers a terrorist organization.

Finland and Sweden support the YPG, as well as some NATO members, including the United States, in the war against the Islamic State group.

Ankara also accuses Stockholm of giving refuge to people they say were responsible for the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey. Local Turkish media reported on Monday that the Turkish government has submitted a list of people it wants to extradite from Sweden and Finland.

Turkey’s growing list of demands is a sign that Ankara has a broader agenda, said Asli Aydintasbas, senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

“Turkey clearly wanted a more expanded major deal with NATO. It will not be,” Aydintasbas said. “Instead, there will be a more bilateral conversation (between) Sweden and Finland (and) Turkey, and this has been a source of frustration. Erdogan wanted President (Joe) Biden himself to enter this conversation and put some incentives on the table. This has not happened. ”

Aaron Stein of the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia said that despite Turkey’s potential veto, Sweden’s and Finland’s security will still be assured of all Russian threats.

“Turkey can hold back, but they will not hold back the alliance. Things will move forward,” Stein said. “And let’s be clear here: The most important NATO member state is the United States. It is the country that guarantees the security of them all. So, if the United States provides security to these two countries – which Joe Biden has actually done – yes, we have insured on what the United States will do: It will increase Allied presence in Finland and Sweden. ”

Erdogan will hold a series of meetings at the Madrid summit to resolve the dead end.

Analyst Aydintasbas said a deal can still be reached.

“It may take time, or it may be resolved at the NATO summit. It depends on how (much) greater reward NATO members and NATO themselves want to put on the table,” Aydintasbas said. “It also depends on how much pressure there will be on Turkey. I think what Erdogan is striving for is at least the visibility of NATO leaders, that he can present to the Turkish public as the global leader that has led to a major diplomatic victory for Turkey. ”

Analysts say that Erdogan is lagging behind in opinion polls and needs a boost because he is facing re-election in a year. They also say that the president knows that standing up to NATO plays well with his voting base and that he may want to retain power over his allies after the Madrid summit.