conflicts
Erdogan doubts Sweden’s NATO membership up to the summit
Despite efforts, there is still disagreement over Sweden’s NATO membership: Recep Tayyip Erdogan (r), President of Turkey, and Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of Sweden. photo
© Burhan Ozbilici/AP/dpa
The Turkish President may want to continue to oppose Sweden’s accession to NATO. Whether it will work out as planned by the summit in July remains uncertain.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cast doubt on his country’s approval of Sweden’s NATO membership before the upcoming summit in July. “Sweden has expectations, but that doesn’t mean we live up to those expectations,” Erdogan said on Wednesday, according to the state news agency Anadolu. Sweden hopes to become a member of the alliance by the defense alliance summit in Vilnius.
Erdogan again accused Sweden of not taking decisive action against “terrorist organizations”. Against this background, Turkey is repeatedly demanding extraditions. Sweden’s Supreme Court recently approved the first extradition of a PKK supporter to Turkey and also tightened its terrorism laws. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in early June that Sweden had met all of Turkey’s requirements.
Before the impact of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Sweden, like Finland, applied for NATO membership in May 2022. Finland has been a member since the beginning of April, while Sweden still lacks the approval of Turkey and Hungary.
On Wednesday, representatives of NATO, Sweden and Turkey again negotiated jointly in Ankara on accession.