Hungary, but above all Turkey, continue to block the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO. Ankara is demanding greater cooperation from these two countries in the fight against terrorism. In other words, Turkey wants Stockholm and Helsinki to hand over political opponents, including Kurdish activists.
Response from Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson this Sunday: “Turkey wants things we can’t give it“, in particular with reference to the journalist Bülent Kenes whom the Swedish Supreme Court refused to extradite in December. After this decision, the head of Turkish diplomacy had noted “positive measures“, but demanded “other important stepsto remove its objections to Stockholm’s entry into the Alliance.
“The decision is in Turkey’s camp”
“Turkey confirms as well that we did what we said we would do, but she also says that she wants things that we cannot and do not want to give her” he said at a conference in Sweden on defense and security, in the presence of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“We are convinced that Turkey will make a decision, we just don’t know when.“, declared for his part the leader of the Alliance, before adding: “The decision is in Turkey’s camp“.
Finland waits for Sweden to join NATO
On the sidelines of this conference, the head of Finnish diplomacy reaffirmed that his country would enter the Atlantic Alliance at the same time as its neighbor. “Finland is not in such a rush to get into NATO that we can’t wait for Sweden to get the green light“, said Pekka Haavisto to the press.
He explained that the speakers of the Swedish and Finnish parliaments are expected to visit Ankara in mid-January. Another meeting between the three countries is scheduled for the spring.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson made one of his very first international trips to Ankara in early November to try to lift the Turkish veto.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland have broken with decades of non-alignment and expressed their willingness to join NATO.