Sweden cannot meet Turkey’s demands for NATO support, says the prime minister
Sweden cannot accept any of the requirements Turkey require it to lift the block on supporting the country’s accession to NATOsaid Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Sunday.
“Turkey has confirmed that we have done what we said we would do, but it also says that it wants things that we cannot, that we do not want to give it,” Kristersson said during a security conference that was also attended by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“We are confident that Turkey will make a decision, we just don’t know when.”
Kristersson said it would depend on Turkey’s internal politics and “Sweden’s ability to show its seriousness”.
Sweden and Finland broke with decades of military non-alignment and applied to join the US-led defense alliance in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
But Turkey has refused to accept their bid until the two countries take action, including joining its fight against outlawed Kurdish militants.
Most of Turkey’s demands have involved Sweden because of its stronger ties with the Kurdish diaspora.
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Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said that the country would join NATO at the same time as the neighboring country.
“Finland is not in such a hurry to join NATO that we cannot wait until Sweden gets the green light,” Haavisto said after Sunday’s conference.
Stoltenberg said he expected both countries to be able to join the military alliance as early as this year, while admitting that the decision would depend on the Turkish and Hungarian parliaments.
Only among the 30 NATO members Hungary and Turkey has not yet approved the two Nordic applications.
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But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said parliament will soon approve both Finland’s and Sweden’s accession bids, leaving Turkey in the only way.
Stotenberg said he expected the two countries to join NATO this year.
“But I will not guarantee the exact date, because of course it is a sovereign decision of the Turkish and Hungarian parliaments, [which] has not yet ratified the agreement, he told AFP.
Finland and Sweden “are clearly committed to long-term cooperation with Turkey,” and “it is time to complete the accession process and to ratify the accession protocol,” Stoltenberg said.
In late December, Turkey praised Sweden for responding to its security concerns, but stressed that more was needed to win Ankara’s full support for Stockholm’s stalled NATO membership bid.
Updated: January 9, 2023, 01:10