Sweden’s new premier assures Ankara of NATO commitments

STOCKHOLM

The new prime minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, has assured Türkiye that his government will fulfill the commitments outlined in the trilateral agreement for NATO membership in a phone conversation with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Erdoğan and Kristersson spoke over the phone late on Oct. 26 in which the former congratulated the formation of the new government in Sweden. The conversation follows a letter sent by Kristersson to Erdoğan in the past week that detailed the actions taken and to be taken by Stockholm for the membership of NATO. The letter also mentioned about Kristersson’s intention to pay a visit to Ankara.

Touching upon the letter Kristersson sent him on Oct. 19, Erdoğan said he would be happy to welcome Kristersson in Ankara. He said that Türkiye stands ready to advance bilateral relations with the Swedish government in all areas.

“Noting that Ankara is following Prime Minister Kristersson’s statements of commitment to the trilateral memorandum, President Erdoğan said that the trilateral memorandum would serve as a guide in the period ahead,” a statement by the Communications Directorate said. According to the statement, enforcing the Turkish-Swedish relationship is of common benefit, Erdoğan said, underlining the need to prevent the latter from being taken as hostage by terrorist organizations.

Constructive phone call

The Swedish prime minister, for his part, described the conversation with Erdoğan as constructive. “Looking forward to visiting Ankara soon. My government will fulfill the trilateral memorandum between for NATO accession,” he said on Twitter.

Türkiye, Sweden and Finland signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding in late June that stipulates the actions the two Nordic states should take in the fight against terrorism against anti-Türkiye terror organizations. It obliges enhanced cooperation between the three countries with Sweden and Finland to extradite the terror convicts to Türkiye.

A total of 28 allies out of 30 countries have already ratified the accession of Sweden and Finland with only Türkiye and Hungary yet to conclude the ratification process. The Nordic states are hopeful that the entire process will be concluded before the end of this year.

Ankara continues to urge the two countries that they should take more concrete steps by banning the PKK’s activities and extraditing the terror convicts.