Turkey expects additional steps from Sweden and Finland to join NATO

The negotiation process on the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO is proceeding in a positive way, but the authorities of these countries have not yet taken concrete steps to implement the agreements reached with Turkey. This was stated by the head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry Mevlut Cavusoglu, transmits NTV.

“They haven’t taken any concrete steps yet… In general, the process is going well, but there are still steps that need to be taken,” he said.

In particular, these countries have not yet extradited members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is recognized as terrorist in Turkey, to Turkey, Cavusoglu explained.

Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO in mid-May amid Russia’s special operation in Ukraine. At the end of June, the NATO leadership decided to invite these two countries to the alliance. Turkey blocked countries from joining the alliance because Helsinki and Oslo supported the PKK. On June 28, the foreign ministers of the three countries signed a memorandum of understanding, which confirmed Ankara’s support. The application has also not yet been ratified by Hungary.

In early November, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on Turkey to ratify the agreements on the entry of Sweden and Finland into the alliance, since, according to him, the countries have fulfilled all the requirements put forward by Ankara. Cavusoglu did not agree with the Secretary General of the alliance. He stated that Ankara does not believe that Sweden and Finland have fulfilled the terms of the agreements for their entry into NATO. At the same time, Bloomberg, citing sources, claimed that Turkey was not going to ratify the agreements before the end of this year. The agency believes that Ankara will delay the decision until the presidential elections to be held in June.

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