The two Nordic states applied to join the US-led defense alliance in May, ending decades of military non-alignment in a historic policy shift prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Twenty-eight of NATO’s 30 members have ratified their requests. Hungary and Turkey are the only ones that have not done so. Budapest said last week it supported the applications and its parliament would ratify them by mid-December, but Ankara has signaled again that it wants concrete action against groups it considers terrorist. “All eyes are now on Hungary and Turkey,” Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Tuesday. “We expect these countries to ratify our applications. I think it would be important that this happens preferably sooner rather than later.” Sweden’s new prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, told the same meeting in Helsinki that Sweden “fully respected the fact that each country within the alliance makes its own decisions”, adding that he was due to visit Ankara in the coming days. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who faces elections next year and is keen to shore up nationalist support, said his country remained opposed to Sweden’s application, while ruling AK Party spokesman Ömer Çelik said on Monday that Sweden has not yet done enough to change Ankara’s mind. “These statements by Sweden are good, but they are not enough until they are implemented,” Celik said. “We’re waiting for it to come alive.” Turkey has said it has more objections to Sweden than Finland, but both countries reiterated last week that they would join NATO at the same time, maintaining a united front. Swedish media reported that Kristersson is to attend a bilateral meeting in Ankara, likely on November 8, days after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is due to visit the Turkish capital for talks on Friday. According to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Erdogan told the Swedish prime minister in a phone call last week that “preventing terrorist organizations from taking Sweden’s NATO membership and relations with Turkey hostage is a common interest.” Turkey opposed the applications even before they were submitted, citing the countries’ history of hosting members of Kurdish militants such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and followers of US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, as well as a 2019 arms sales freeze. The previous Swedish government followed through on parts of a June memorandum signed with Turkey to win Ankara’s support by lifting an arms embargo and blocking financial and other support for Kurdish groups in Syria, such as the so-called YPG. Subscribe to This is Europe The most central stories and debates about Europeans – from identity to the economy to the environment Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Ankara wants to see more releases of people it says are linked to the PKK and other groups it considers terrorist. So far, Sweden has approved only two requests. Nordic media reported that as many as 73 may be pending. Some analysts have suggested that Sweden’s centre-right government, which was formed earlier this month, may find it easier to reconcile with Turkey than its centre-left predecessor. Sweden’s new foreign minister, Tobias Billström, said on Monday that the new coalition has less “baggage” on the Kurdish issue. “This was among other things about previous statements that people had made and how people viewed the activities of Kurdish groups on Swedish territory,” Billström said, arguing that his Social Democratic predecessor Ann Linde’s public support for Kurdish movements had complicated the negotiations. ‘A dangerous neighbour’: why Finland and Sweden want to join NATO – video explanation
