Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde on Thursday said that she hoped her country would join NATO before the end of the year as the Turkish Parliament has still not ratified the country’s accession.
Speaking to the Swedish news agency TT, Linde said she hopes Sweden will join NATO at the same time as Finland before 2023.
In response to Türkiye's concerns and ongoing talks, she said the Turkish government must first submit such a proposal to parliament.
"There they continue to say that they first want to see concrete results from the trilateral agreement. And that's what we're working on. The trilateral agreement between Sweden, Finland and Türkiye was concluded in June. There, among other things, increased cooperation against terrorism is promised," the top diplomat said.
"Türkiye submits the request with extradition, and so it is handled in accordance with our legislation and the European convention on extradition and it is also stated in the agreement," she added.
Linde said discussions with Türkiye were mainly focused on "Sweden strengthening its anti-terrorism legislation, which was already underway before the agreement with Türkiye was concluded. In part, it is about intensifying cooperation in the fight against terrorism."
She said Sweden hopes to join NATO alongside Finland, and the Finnish government and president have stated unequivocally that they are on the same page.
To a question about the possibility of Türkiye's ratifying Sweden's membership taking longer than expected, possibly until the summer of 2023, Linde said, "It is a possibility that we must include (in the calculation). Therefore, the security guarantees we received from the U.S., the U.K., the Nordic countries, and a few other countries are very, very important."
Linde’s words came just a week after supporters of the PKK and its Syrian wing, the YPG, once again held demonstrations in Sweden’s capital despite the deal. The demonstrators carried flags symbolizing the YPG/PKK and unfurled a poster of Öcalan.
Speaking on the issue on Friday, Defense Minister Akar told reporters in Brussels: "Of course we want NATO to become stronger and enlarged. We do not have any problems with NATO's open-door policy. But we say that our sensitivities should be respected. NATO is a security organization. One of NATO's biggest areas of struggle is terrorism. Terrorism is currently a serious problem for all countries."
"The memorandum is clear. Our stance and policy are also clear and clear in this sense. There are commitments signed by Sweden and Finland. We express that these must be fulfilled. After this is done, Parliament will decide. We also closely monitor the situation in Sweden and Finland. Unfortunately, we still see that some provocative actions and images continue to appear in these countries. We expect both Sweden and Finland to take concrete steps," Akar emphasized.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said recently that Türkiye would continue opposing Sweden's NATO membership bid until its demands are met for a tougher Swedish stance against "terrorist organizations."
"As long as terrorist organizations demonstrate on Swedish streets and terrorists are present in their parliament, our approach to the issue will not be positive," Erdoğan told reporters at the Prague meeting of the European Political Community.
For Sweden and Finland to become NATO members, their applications must be ratified by all 30 NATO members. So far, 28 have already done so – only Türkiye and Hungary have votes still pending.
Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO in June, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine.
However, Türkiye voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.
A trilateral memorandum at the NATO Madrid summit signed among the countries in June stipulates that Finland and Sweden will not provide support to the PKK's Syrian offshoots, the YPG and the PYD, or the Gülenist Terrorist Group (FETÖ) – the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Türkiye.
Sweden and Finland agreed earlier this summer to assure Türkiye of their support against security risks.
Among Türkiye’s demands were the repatriation of some suspects and Sweden lifting its arms embargo.
Sweden said that it is ready to supply weapons to Türkiye as part of its bid to join NATO.
Finland and Sweden also agreed to address Türkiye's pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects.
