Türkiye, Sweden to continue talks over NATO accession
ANKARA
Alamy Photo
Talks for the Swedish bid to join NATO will continue in the coming period, a statement from the Turkish Communications Directorate has said, following a key meeting for the Nordic state’s accession to the alliance.
The fourth meeting of the Joint Permanent Mechanism was held with the participation of senior officials from Türkiye, Sweden, Finland and NATO in the Turkish capital Ankara on June 14. Akif Çağatay Kılıç, the chief foreign policy adviser of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan headed the Turkish delegation.
A brief statement after a four-hour-long meeting suggested that the meeting observed the progress Sweden made in the implementation of the trilateral agreement signed between Türkiye, Sweden and Finland in June 2022. Finland joined NATO in March after it fulfilled its anti-terror commitments, while Sweden is believed to take more concrete steps in terms of stopping terrorist activities, propaganda and demonstrations on its soil.
It also said that the talks will continue in the same spirit.
Sweden is hoping to join the alliance before the Vilnius Summit to take place on July 11 and 12 in Lithuania. Erdoğan, in a statement on June 14, hinted that Sweden has to do more to join the alliance at Vilnius Summit.
‘Sweden not safe haven to terrorists’
In the meantime, Sweden’s top negotiator, Oscar Stenstrom, said his country is no safe haven for terrorism, according to the Turkish press.
“Sweden is no safe haven for terrorism. We are no safe haven for PKK. We have stepped up our cooperation between our police agencies, the police, and the security service together with the Turkish counterparts to be much more effective,” he was quoted as saying by the media.
Ankara often slams Sweden for allowing anti-Türkiye demonstrations by the PKK sympathizers on the streets of Stockholm. It suspended talks with Sweden after a Danish politician burned the Muslim holy book of the Quran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.
Sweden’s new anti-terror law took effect on June 1 but, for Ankara, its implementation is more important than the law itself. It calls on Stockholm to stop the PKK activities, rallies, propaganda means and fundraising efforts. In addition, Ankara seeks the extradition of PKK terrorists from Sweden, which says it’s up to the justice.
NATO chief hopeful
In the meantime, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expressed that he is still hopeful that Sweden will join the alliance before the summit.
The NATO chief, who was in Washington for talks with U.S. President Joe Biden, told reporters that some progress has been achieved in the Türkiye-Sweden talks.
“We will continue to work, and we all will welcome Sweden as a full member as soon as possible,” he said, adding that Sweden could still join the alliance before the bloc’s Vilnius summit on July 11-12.
