NATO chief urges Turkey not to veto Sweden joining alliance
Stoltenberg says Sweden has “fulfilled its obligations” but has not made a breakthrough in talks with Turkey’s Erdogan.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has urged Turkey not to veto Sweden’s bid to join the military alliance ahead of a meeting this month to try to allay objections delaying Stockholm’s membership.
“Membership will make Sweden more secure, but also make NATO and Turkey stronger,” Secretary-General Stoltenberg told journalists in Istanbul on Sunday after a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his newly appointed foreign minister, Hakan Fidan. former intelligence chief.
“I look forward to finalizing Sweden’s entry as soon as possible,” added Stoltenberg.
Officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland will meet next week to try to resolve the issues that have slowed Sweden’s NATO membership, Stoltenberg said, referring to the permanent joint mechanism set up to address Turkey’s concerns about Sweden and Finland. to take.
In March, Turkey ratified Finland’s accession and in April became NATO’s 31st member.
All 31 member states must ratify a candidate’s accession protocol to join the transatlantic alliance.
The Turkish government accuses Sweden of being too lenient towards “terrorist” organizations and security threats, including Kurdish groups and people involved in a 2016 coup attempt. Hungary has also delayed approval, but reasons have not been made publicly clear .
“Sweden has taken important concrete steps to address Turkey’s concerns,” Stoltenberg said, noting that the country has amended its constitution, tightened its anti-terror laws and lifted an arms embargo against Turkey since it was lifted just over a year ago. had previously applied to join NATO. year ago.
NATO wants to get Sweden involved by the time US President Joe Biden and other leaders meet in Lithuania on July 11-12.
Fearing they could be targeted by Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional stances of military nonalignment to seek protection under the security umbrella of NATO.
While Stoltenberg held talks in Istanbul, hundreds of people, including dozens of pro-Kurdish protesters, gathered in Stockholm to demonstrate against Sweden’s planned NATO membership. Up to 500 people took part in the protest “No to NATO – no Erdogan laws in Sweden”.
They gathered under the banner of the “Alliance against NATO”, an umbrella for Kurdish organizations, left-wing groups, anarchists, youth and climate activists and people who oppose the new Swedish “anti-terror laws”, which came into effect on June 1 . like those who advocate for free media.
In January, a protest in Stockholm that burned a copy of the Quran brought Swedish NATO membership talks to a halt after Erdogan suspended meetings. The incident sparked demonstrations against Sweden across the Muslim world.
Stoltenberg seemed to suggest that the protests may have been voiced during his conversations.
“I understand that it is difficult to see demonstrations against Turkey and against NATO in Sweden,” Stoltenberg said. “But let me be clear, freedom of assembly and expression are core values in our democratic societies. These rights must be protected and enforced.”
On Saturday, Stoltenberg attended the inauguration in Ankara of Erdogan, who was re-elected to a third presidential term and another five years in office.