ISLAMABAD: Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey will support Sweden’s NATO membership bid if there is cooperation from Stockholm in the fight against terrorism.
Sweden and Finland had applied for NATO membership after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, abandoning their policies of military non-alignment from the Cold War era. However, the approval of their applications requires unanimous consent from all NATO members.
President Erdogan had previously delayed the ratification of Sweden’s NATO bid for over a year but unexpectedly agreed to move it forward to Turkey’s parliament for consideration after the NATO summit in Lithuania. He mentioned that the timeline for ratification will depend on the Turkish parliament’s working schedule, which is expected to reconvene in October.
Erdogan emphasized that it would be beneficial for Sweden to take concrete steps in combating terrorist organizations and in the extradition of individuals Turkey perceives as terrorists, particularly members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and those accused of orchestrating the 2016 failed coup.
Ankara has accused Stockholm of not doing enough against individuals Turkey considers terrorists, and the issue of extradition has been a major point of contention between the two countries. Sweden’s top court had recently blocked the extradition of two Turkish citizens, further contributing to the tension.
Erdogan referred to a deal made in Madrid last year between Turkey, Sweden, and Finland to address Ankara’s security concerns. Turkey condemned the partial destruction of a Qur’an in front of Iraq’s embassy in Stockholm, but Erdogan did not comment on the incident publicly while on the plane. In summary, Erdogan’s statement implies that Turkey is willing to support Sweden’s NATO membership bid, but it is contingent on increased
