Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kirstersson said on Sunday that his country could not accept “certain demands” put forward by Turkey regarding the Nordic country’s bid for NATO membership.
“Turkey has confirmed that we have done what we promised to do, but they also say they want concessions that we can’t make, that we don’t want to make,” Kristersson said during a security conference he also attended. head of NATO. Jens Stoltenberg.
“We are convinced that Turkey will make a decision. We just don’t know when,” he said, adding that it would depend on Ankara’s domestic politics as well as “Sweden’s ability to be serious.”
Sweden and Finland broke decades of non-aligned military policy and applied to join a US-led defense alliance in response to Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine. But Turkey has refused to approve their application until the two countries take steps, including joining Turkey’s anti-terrorist fight against the PKK.
Finnish Foreign Minister said that the country will join NATO at the same time as its neighbor. “Finland is not in such a hurry to join NATO that we can’t wait for Sweden to get the green light,” Pekka Haavisto told reporters at a conference on Sunday.
In late December, Türkiye praised Sweden for responding to its security concerns, but stressed that more is needed to win Ankara’s full support for Stockholm’s stalled bid for NATO membership.
