Turkey Called the Condition for Sweden’s Entry Into NATO
Sweden must fulfill its obligations to achieve NATO membership. In particular, Stockholm must comply with the tripartite memorandum.
This was stated by Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Güler, RBC-Ukraine reports with reference to Hürriyet Daily News.
“At our bilateral meetings, we told our allies that Sweden can become a NATO member, like Finland, if it fulfills its obligations set out in the tripartite memorandum,” he said.
Sweden’s entry into NATO
Sweden and Finland applied to join the alliance after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. Turkey was the last to ratify the application after Finland complied with the terms of a tripartite agreement signed last June in Madrid, which obliges the Scandinavian countries to intensify their fight against the terrorist organization PKK. Along with Turkey, Hungary has also not yet ratified Sweden’s application.
While acknowledging some progress made by Sweden, Turkey remains cautious and believes that further steps are needed to fulfill the requirements for NATO membership. The government has expressed its desire for Sweden to demonstrate a stronger commitment to the purposes and principles of NATO.
Sweden’s new anti-terrorism law came into force on June 1, but for Ankara its implementation is more important than the law itself. She calls on Stockholm to stop PKK activities, rallies, propaganda facilities and fundraising efforts. In addition, Ankara is demanding that Sweden extradite the PKK terrorists, which says it depends on justice.
The desired outcome for most NATO members is Sweden’s participation as a full member at the upcoming summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, scheduled for 11-12 July. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hinted in a June 14 statement that Sweden must do more to join the alliance at the Vilnius summit.
Source : РБК-Україна
