It is time for Sweden to join NATO because it has done what is necessary to secure Turkey’s membership approval, the military alliance’s secretary general said on Monday.
“I have said that the time has come to put an end to Sweden’s ratification process,” Jens Stoltenberg told the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet in an interview.
In May, Sweden and neighboring Finland abandoned their long-standing policies of military nonalignment and applied to join NATO after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The measure requires the unanimous approval of the alliance members. Turkey has delayed the process as it presses the two Nordic countries to crack down on groups it considers terrorist organizations and extradite people suspected of terrorism-related crimes.
Last month, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Sweden was not even “halfway” on the commitments it made to secure Ankara’s support. His comments came after a Swedish court ruled against the extradition of a journalist wanted by Turkey for alleged links to a failed 2016 coup.
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“I am sure Sweden will become a NATO member. I don’t want to give a precise date when that will happen,” Stoltenberg said. “So far, it’s been a weird, unusual and quick membership process. Typically, it takes several years.”
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said that Sweden has fulfilled its commitments and that the decision now “lies with Turkey”.
“We have a very good process together with Finland and Turkey and we are doing exactly what we said, which Turkey is now confirming,” Kristersson said on Sunday, the first day of the three-day People and Defense conference in Salen, a station ski. in central Sweden. The event was attended by Stoltenberg and Swedish foreign policy and security experts.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks at a conference in Salen, Sweden, January 8, 2023. Stoltenberg said on January 9, 2023 that Sweden deserved to join NATO.
(Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency via AP, file)
“Legislation prohibiting participation in terrorist organizations is being implemented, and Turkey is known to name the people it wants to extradite. Sweden is also known to have legislation that is clear and means it depends on the courts. We also do not extradite citizens Swedes”. to any country.”
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There was no immediate reaction from Turkey to the comments by Stoltenberg and Kristersson.
The parliaments of 28 NATO countries have already ratified the membership of Sweden and Finland. Turkey and Hungary are the only members that have not yet given their approval.
According to the memorandum, the two countries agreed to address Turkey’s security concerns, including requests for the deportation and extradition of Kurdish militants and people linked to a network led by US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. The Turkish government accuses Gulen of masterminding the 2016 coup attempt, which he denies.
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However, Sweden’s highest court has refused to extradite journalist Bulent Kenes, whom Turkey accuses of being among the coup plotters. Kenes, who was granted asylum in Sweden, was the editor of the English-language newspaper Today’s Zaman, owned by the Gulen network and shut down as part of Ankara’s crackdown on the group.
On Monday, Sweden’s government said it planned to revive conscription by asking the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency to prepare education for people who would be asked to serve in municipal emergency services in the event of a conflict. military man.
