According to the aide of the Turkish president, Sweden would need another six months to write new laws related to terrorism. The time for accepting NATO memberships would be running out before the Turkish elections.
Turkey presidential Recep Tayyip Erdoğan assistant Ibrahim Kalin said on Saturday that time was running out for the approval of Finland and Sweden’s NATO memberships before the Turkish elections, which may be held in May.
According to the Reuters news agency, Kalin said that the acceptance of membership depends on how quickly Sweden implements Turkey’s demands to fight terrorism.
Turkey has demanded a commitment from Finland and Sweden that the countries no longer investigate Kurdish organizations that Turkey considers terrorist organizations and the so-called Gülenists, whom the Turkish administration accuses of attempting a coup in 2016.
Kalin’s think that Sweden would need another six months to write new laws related to terrorism. Swedish Parliament accepted last November an amendment to the constitution that enables tougher terrorism laws.
In Kalin’s opinion, Sweden should send a clear message to “terrorist organizations that Sweden is no longer a safe haven for them” and that the organizations could no longer, for example, collect money or recruit new members in Sweden.
Foreign minister Pekka Haavisto (green) has helpedthat Turkey accepts the new NATO members either well before its elections, in February–March, or only after the elections before the NATO summit next July.
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