Turkey demands from Sweden even tougher measures against the Kurdish organization PKK.
Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan according to Sweden should not expect a significant change in Turkey’s line regarding Sweden’s NATO membership. In comments carried by the Turkish media, Erdoğan says that it is not worth waiting for the ratification of Sweden’s membership until the NATO summit in Vilnius. The summit will be held in four weeks.
“We are not going to fulfill Sweden’s wishes just because there are some,” Erdoğan was reported to have said.
According to the Turkish news agency Anadolu, Turkey demands from Sweden even tougher measures against the Kurdish organization PKK.
“First of all, Sweden must do its part against terrorist organizations,” Erdoğan stated.
Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto on the other hand, tells the Turkish media that Turkey and Hungary have agreed to keep each other informed regarding the progress of the membership issue. According to Szijjarto, it is problematic for Hungary that Sweden has criticized Hungary for violating the principles of democracy and the rule of law.
“Such accusations give us reason to put this issue on hold for a while,” Szijjarto was quoted as saying.
In Sweden, there were hopes in advance that the country’s stalled NATO membership process would start today. In Ankara, the representatives of Sweden, Finland and Turkey will meet at the official level in the tripartite communication, which was agreed to start at the NATO summit in Madrid last year. A representative of the NATO Secretary General is also present.
The Turkish delegation is led by President Erdoğan’s new security adviser Akif Çağatay Kılıç. In a TV interview at the turn of the week, he estimated that Sweden is now closer to NATO membership than before.
Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson said before the meeting that the purpose is to present to the persons who have changed the table on the Turkish side what has been agreed so far. Kristersson emphasized that the position of the Swedish government is still that the country has done everything that was promised.
“I hope it will be a good meeting. It’s getting busy before Vilnius (the NATO summit), so we hope that this will lead to Turkey’s ratification,” Kristersson told Aftonbladet.
Hopes for progress have been raised by the new anti-terrorism law that came into force in Sweden and Erdogan’s clear victory in the second round of the Turkish presidential election. Thus, the Turkish president should no longer have domestic political reasons to delay Sweden’s membership.
Along with Turkey, Hungary has not yet ratified Sweden’s NATO membership.
Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg and several leaders of the member countries have stated that Sweden must become a NATO member by the time of the NATO summit in Vilnius in four weeks.
President Sauli Niinistö last said on Monday that Sweden’s joining NATO as soon as possible is very important for Finland, both politically and militarily.
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