Sweden and Finland applied to join the alliance last month in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Their demands met with an unexpected response from Turkey, which has been outraged by Swedish support for Kurdish fighters and by a previous decision to revoke arms export licenses to Turkey.
“I welcome the fact that Sweden has already begun to change its anti-terrorism legislation and that Sweden will ensure that the legal framework for arms exports reflects its future status as a NATO member with new commitments to its allies,” Stoltenberg said. during a press conference with The Prime Minister of Sweden Magdalena Andersson.
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks at the opening of the Kultaranta talks, hosted by the Finnish President at the Kultaranta Presidential Summer Residence in Naantali, Finland, June 12, 2022. Lehtikuva / Markku Ulander via REUTER
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“These are two important steps in addressing the concerns raised by Turkey.”
Anderson said Sweden had changed its terrorism laws and was in the process of further tightening them.
“From 1 July we will also have even stronger anti-terrorism legislation. So there are no questions here about how strongly Sweden views terrorism and that we are willing to contribute to the fight against terrorism,” he said.
Stoltenberg also said that the goal was for Sweden and Finland to join NATO “as soon as possible” and that it was inconceivable that NATO allies would not defend Sweden if attacked.
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Report by Johan Ahlander and Simon Johnson. Edited by: Simon Johnson
Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
