Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership bid ahead of the military alliance’s meeting in July. Despite hopes that Erdogan would soften his stance on the issue following his re-election last month, he has remained firm in his position. Sweden and Finland applied for membership together after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, with Finland becoming NATO’s 31st member in April after Turkey ratified its request. However, Turkey has held off on approving Sweden’s bid, citing concerns over “terrorist” groups and their supporters living in the Nordic nations. NATO wants to bring Sweden into the fold by the time the leaders of its member nations meet for a summit in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, on July 11-12.
Turkey’s government accuses Sweden of being too lenient towards groups that Ankara says pose a security threat, including Kurdish armed organisations and people accused of associations with a failed coup attempt against Erdogan’s government in 2016. A series of demonstrations in Stockholm, including a protest by an anti-Islam activist who burned the Quran outside the Turkish embassy, also angered Turkish officials. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said his government has done what it promised in an agreement reached with Turkey last year, which was intended to secure Ankara’s ratification of its NATO membership.
Last week, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström was told by his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, that Ankara needed to see more “concrete steps” from Sweden. Erdogan also mentioned pro-Kurdish and anti-NATO rallies that took place in Stockholm while he was holding talks with the alliance’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, in Istanbul this month. He said he planned to attend the July summit in Lithuania unless “extraordinary” circumstances arise. Turkey cannot approach Sweden’s NATO bid positively while “terrorists” were protesting in Stockholm, Erdogan said.
NATO requires the unanimous approval of all existing members to expand, and Turkey and Hungary are the only countries that have not yet ratified Sweden’s request to join. Sweden has focused on extraditing suspects with links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and passed an “anti-terrorism” law, but Ankara has made it clear those actions are not enough. Meanwhile, the top Republican on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee said on Wednesday that he was blocking a $735m arms sale to Hungary because its government has refused to approve Sweden’s bid to join NATO.
“Given promises that were made to me and others last year that this vote would be done and the fact that it is now June and still not done, I decided that the sale of new US military equipment to Hungary will be on hold,” Senator Jim Risch said in a statement. “Hungary should take the actions necessary to allow Sweden into the alliance – and soon.”
H2: Erdogan Refuses to Ratify Sweden’s NATO Membership Bid
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership bid ahead of the military alliance’s meeting in July. Despite hopes that Erdogan would soften his stance on the issue following his re-election last month, he has remained firm in his position.
H2: Turkey Accuses Sweden of Being Too Lenient Towards “Terrorist” Groups
Turkey’s government accuses Sweden of being too lenient towards groups that Ankara says pose a security threat, including Kurdish armed organisations and people accused of associations with a failed coup attempt against Erdogan’s government in 2016. A series of demonstrations in Stockholm, including a protest by an anti-Islam activist who burned the Quran outside the Turkish embassy, also angered Turkish officials.
H2: NATO Requires Unanimous Approval for Expansion
NATO requires the unanimous approval of all existing members to expand, and Turkey and Hungary are the only countries that have not yet ratified Sweden’s request to join. Sweden has focused on extraditing suspects with links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and passed an “anti-terrorism” law, but Ankara has made it clear those actions are not enough.
H2: US Senator Blocks Arms Sale to Hungary Over Sweden’s NATO Bid
The top Republican on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee said on Wednesday that he was blocking a $735m arms sale to Hungary because its government has refused to approve Sweden’s bid to join NATO. “Given promises that were made to me and others last year that this vote would be done and the fact that it is now June and still not done, I decided that the sale of new US military equipment to Hungary will be on hold,” Senator Jim Risch said in a statement. “Hungary should take the actions necessary to allow Sweden into the alliance – and soon.”