Will Sweden join NATO? Turkey could be mitigated
In an attempt to allay Turkey’s fears for security, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the Swedish government had reaffirmed its readiness to address Ankara’s concerns as part of taking on the responsibilities of future NATO membership. Russia’s war in Ukraine pressured the Nordic countries to apply to join NATO, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Sweden and Finland of supporting Kurdish militants who are considered terrorists by Turkey. Stoltenberg said he had a constructive telephone conversation with Erdogan and called on Turkey an esteemed ally and praised Turkish efforts to mediate an agreement to ensure safe transportation of grain from Ukraine amid global food shortages caused by Russia’s invasion. Stoltenberg tweeted that he and Erdogan would continue their dialogue, without developing it.
The NATO chief’s diplomatic efforts came ahead of a meeting of senior officials from Sweden, Finland and Turkey next week in Brussels, where NATO is based, to discuss Turkey’s opposition to the applications.
Sweden takes the Turkish concerns “very seriously” and “not least their security problems when it comes to the fight against terrorism”, said Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and added that her ambition is for us to get these issues resolved.
Stoltenberg said that Sweden has already begun to change its anti-terrorism legislation and that the Scandinavian country will ensure that the legal framework for arms exports will reflect their future status as a NATO member with new commitments to allies. “These are two important steps to address the concerns that Turkey has raised,” he said.
The aim is to resolve those issues as soon as possible, in order to welcome Finland and Sweden as full members as soon as possible, he said.
Stoltenberg declined to say whether the issue should be resolved before the NATO summit in Madrid on 28 June or before the Swedish parliamentary elections on 11 September.
Sweden and Finland have been invited to participate in the meeting in Spain.
After Monday’s conversation, Stoltenberg and Andersson went on a boat trip in the lake next to a Swedish government farm southwest of Stockholm.
On Sunday, Stoltenberg met with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto in Finland and said that Turkey has legitimate concerns about terrorism and other issues that need to be taken seriously.