A day before the NATO summit this Monday, new negotiations will be held to convince Turkey to lift the blockade that prevents Sweden from joining the alliance. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg convened a meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
According to the alliance, it will take place in the afternoon in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, where the two-day summit will start on Tuesday.
Announcing the meeting on Friday, Stoltenberg made it clear that he was counting on Turkey to lift its blockade against Sweden’s entry into the alliance. Further delays would only be welcomed by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party PKK and Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said.
Türkiye blocked for “terrorist organizations”
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022 in light of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Finland has been a member since early April. Sweden, on the other hand, still lacks the agreement of Türkiye and Hungary.
The Turkish leadership is blocking Sweden’s accession, pointing out that the Scandinavian country is not taking sufficient action against “terrorist organisations” – especially the PKK. The fact that a Quran was recently set on fire for the first time in months at a demonstration in Stockholm put an extra strain on relations with Ankara.
The German government is optimistic about Sweden’s planned entry into NATO. A senior government representative expects there to be a “positive development” in the coming days.
Source: Krone
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