Turkish official says Sweden still needs to tackle counter-terrorism to win support for NATO bid
ISTANBUL – A top aide to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested on Saturday that it could take more than six months for Sweden to do what it takes to win the country’s support for its bid to join NATO.
The aide, Ibrahim Kalin, applauded the constitutional change Sweden had made as a step towards meeting Turkish demands, but he said it could take until June for the Nordic nation to introduce the laws necessary for those changes to be implemented.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted Sweden and Finland to seek membership in NATO, which would give them protection from the alliance in the event of a Russian attack. Finland shares a long border with Russia and Sweden has a sea border.
Joining NATO requires the approval of all members, and Turkey has issued extensive demands that it says must be met before it will support the inclusion of Sweden and Finland. These include tightening anti-terrorism laws and extraditing people Turkey considers to be criminals.
In November, Sweden’s Riksdag adopted a constitutional amendment that makes it possible to adopt tougher anti-terrorism laws that Turkey has demanded, but so far that legislation has not been moved.
Turkey has accused Sweden of harboring people linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, a Kurdish militant group that Turkey, the EU and the US consider a terrorist organization. Turkey is also seeking the extradition of others accused of links to an Islamic movement that Turkey considers a terrorist organization, but Western countries do not.
“They need to send a very clear message, not only through words but through actions, to the PKK and its various front organizations that Sweden is no longer a safe haven for them,” Kalin told reporters in Istanbul.
Swedish officials have said they have made great efforts to meet Turkey’s demands but must act according to their domestic laws. Last month, a Swedish court ruled that a Turkish journalist wanted by Turkey could not be extradited because the Turkish charges against him were partly political and because he could be persecuted if he returned to Turkey.
Kalin acknowledged those limitations, saying that Turkey had not asked Sweden or Finland “to do anything outside their legal framework.” But he said Turkey was in no rush and could wait until its demands were met.
“We’re in no rush here,” he said. “They are in a hurry to join NATO.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.