BRUSSELS: Sweden’s foreign minister held discussions with his Turkish counterpart on Thursday at NATO headquarters in an effort to resolve Turkey’s opposition to Sweden’s membership bid before the upcoming summit of alliance leaders next week.
NATO allies have been pressuring Turkey to reconsider its stance and allow Sweden’s accession after a year of delays, aiming to finalize the process before the summit in Lithuania commences on Tuesday. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg convened the last-minute negotiations, which involved intelligence and security officials, with hopes of achieving a breakthrough in the impasse.
However, diplomats at NATO expressed skepticism regarding the likelihood of a significant change in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s position. Turkey and Sweden reached an agreement last year aimed at facilitating Sweden’s path to NATO membership. As part of the deal, Ankara insisted on Sweden taking action against Kurdish movements, particularly the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey considers a terrorist organization.
Turkey and Sweden Agreement
Sweden maintains that it has fulfilled its obligations under the agreement. On Thursday, it even sentenced a Turkish citizen to jail for “attempted terrorist financing” in relation to the PKK, citing new legislation. Nevertheless, Erdogan has continued to criticize Stockholm, and recent protests involving the burning of pages from the Holy Quran have further fueled his discontent.
US President Joe Biden is expected to strongly advocate for Sweden’s inclusion in the coming days. During a meeting in Washington on Wednesday, Biden expressed his eagerness for Sweden to join NATO. Sweden, along with its neighboring country Finland, abandoned decades of military non-alignment and applied for NATO membership following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finland formally became a member of the alliance in April. Hungary is another holdout regarding Sweden’s membership, as unanimous approval from all 31 NATO members is required. However, Budapest has indicated it will relent if Turkey agrees.
