Türkiye urges Sweden to comply with agreement for NATO bid

ANKARA 

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Sweden has to fulfill all of its requirements written in the trilateral agreement signed between Türkiye, Finland and Sweden to enter NATO, a top Turkish diplomat has once again reiterated ahead of NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg’s visit to Ankara over the weekend.

“A crystal clear message to our Swedish Friends! Fulfill your commitments arising from the trilateral memorandum and take concrete steps in the fight against terrorism. The rest will follow,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu tweeted late on June 1.

His statement was a reply to Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström’s Twitter message after his attendance at the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Oslo on June 1. “Meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers in Oslo today showed strong support from Member States towards Sweden’s membership in NATO and a clear message to Türkiye and Hungary to start the ratification of Sweden’s accession to NATO.”

Sweden and Finland officially applied to become the 31st and 32nd members of the alliance in 2022 following the Russian occupation of Ukraine. Türkiye signed a trilateral agreement with both countries that stipulates concrete action against the presence and activities of the PKK in their territories. The Turkish Parliament approved Finland’s application in March 2023 after Helsinki addressed the requirements listed in the agreement. Sweden has just started to implement a new anti-terror law by June 1.

During the Oslo meeting, senior officials from NATO countries, including the United States and Germany, have called on Türkiye to swiftly approve Sweden’s bid so that the Nordic state can join the alliance before the key leaders’ summit in Vilnius in mid-July.

In the meantime, U.S. President Joe Biden also predicted that Sweden will join the alliance soon. Speaking at the U.S. Air Force Academy on June 1, Biden said NATO is stronger in spite of Russia’s attempt to crack the alliance with the invasion of Ukraine. It is bolstered further by the recent admission of Finland “and soon, Sweden,” he said.

“It will happen, I promise you,” he added but provided no details.

NATO chief due in Ankara

Amid increased pressure on Türkiye, NATO chief Stoltenberg is expected to be in Ankara on June 3 to attend a ceremony for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s starting his new five-year term in the presidential complex.

He is also expected to hold bilateral talks with Turkish officials over the Swedish membership.

Ankara says it needs to see concrete action by the Swedish authorities regarding the presence and activities of the PKK. Although Ankara praises the recent legal amendments and actions, it says the process is not yet completed.