Stoltenberg says Sweden and Finland fulfilled Turkey’s NATO conditions

Sweden and Finland may join NATO by autumn, as they have fulfilled all the conditions of Turkey. This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg following a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of defense ministers.

“Both countries have met all the requirements set out in the trilateral memorandum (adopted jointly with Turkey at the NATO summit in Madrid last June), Finland and Sweden should become members of NATO by autumn,” he said (cit. according to TASS).

At the same time, he noted that, despite this, Turkey and Hungary have not yet ratified the documents for the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO. Stoltenberg said that tomorrow, February 16, he would fly to Turkey, including to discuss this issue.

Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO in mid-May last year against the backdrop of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine. At the end of June, the NATO leadership decided to invite these two countries to the alliance. December 4, 2022 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland explainedthat Moscow’s nuclear rhetoric was a key factor in prompting Finland to apply to join NATO.

The only countries that have not yet approved the membership of Finland and Sweden in the alliance are Hungary and Turkey. According to the agreements signed in June, Stockholm and Helsinki promised Ankara to investigate and stop any funding and recruitment activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), recognized as terrorist in Turkey. In addition, Sweden and Finland pledged to consider Turkey’s requests for the extradition of suspected terrorists, while Stockholm separately announced the tightening of anti-terrorism legislation in the country.

A new round of tension in relations between Sweden and Turkey was caused by several radical actions. On January 21, far-right Danish politician Rasmus Paludan, who heads the anti-Islamic Stram Kurs (Hard Course) party, burned The Koran near the building of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. The action was agreed with the mayor’s office, and Paludan paid the fee due for such a performance.

After that, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declaredthat Sweden should no longer wait for Turkey to support its application for NATO membership after the scandalous actions in Stockholm. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström admitted that “negotiations have stalled” because of Paludan’s actions.