Turkey confirmed that Sweden and Finland had made “progress” after their talks on joining NATO. Sweden had previously responded to a request by Erdogan.
Turkey confirmed that Sweden and Finland had made “progress” in terms of both countries joining NATO. In a statement released in Stockholm on Friday, the three countries congratulated each other on “intensifying cooperation (…) and progress made by Finland and Sweden in complying with the agreement”. The latter was signed on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid in June.
Sweden: getting closer to NATO
“Sweden has fully respected the tripartite agreement and is approaching NATO,” Swedish negotiator Oscar Stenstrom said after the meeting, announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Stockholm earlier this month.
After Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Sweden and Finland broke the decades-old tradition of military alliance neutrality and applied for NATO membership in May. Each of the 30 NATO member states must ratify accession. Only Hungary and Turkey have yet to reach an agreement.
Turkey threatens to block NATO membership
Turkey has threatened to block NATO membership if the two countries do not respond to Ankara’s demands. Regarding the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members, Ankara in particular accuses Sweden of being a haven for “terrorists”.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson promised to respond to Turkish demands during his visit to Ankara in early November. In mid-November, the Swedish parliament voted to amend the constitution to allow for tightening of anti-terrorism laws. The change will come into effect on 1 January.
Source: ZDF
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