Turkey is unlikely to signal it’s ready to approve Sweden’s bid to join NATO when both sides meet this week, despite the Nordic country’s hopes that a recent strict anti-terror law would persuade Ankara it’s cracking down on Kurdish militants.
(Bloomberg) — Turkey is unlikely to signal it’s ready to approve Sweden’s bid to join NATO when both sides meet this week, despite the Nordic country’s hopes that a recent strict anti-terror law would persuade Ankara it’s cracking down on Kurdish militants.
Turkey, Sweden and Finland are due to meet Wednesday for further talks as part of a joint format agreed in Madrid last summer.
But Ankara still wants Sweden to do more to comply with its conditions to sign off on its membership in time for a summit of the military alliance’s leaders next month, according to people familiar with the matter, who stressed Sweden’s full compliance with the agreement is key for the expansion process to move forward.
Turkey says Sweden should fully implement its new anti-terrorism law, which entered into force on June 1, to prevent or disperse anti-Turkey protests there. But there aren’t any provisions in the law that would allow such a step and Turkey didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Sweden argues that, by having the new terrorism law in place, it fulfilled all its obligations under the agreement, and says it has a mutual interest with Turkey in coordinating efforts against terrorism and organized crime more closely.
The Swedish government on Monday announced a formal decision to extradite a man who claimed to be a supporter of the Kurdish PKK group, while a prosecutor in Stockholm last week brought the first-ever charges related to raising funds for the group.
When Finland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in April, Sweden was left in limbo over its prospects, with both Turkey and Hungary’s ratifications outstanding.
NATO allies are urging Turkey to approve Sweden’s bid in time for the summit, saying the country meets all qualifications. Sweden’s accession would clinch NATO’s control of the Baltic Sea and give the alliance the upper hand in the Arctic region — both strategic gateways for Russia — even as Moscow is bogged down in its invasion of Ukraine.
In the meantime, as a formal invitee, Sweden has a right to join all NATO meetings, in contrast to Ukraine and Georgia, whose applications have yet to move forward in any meaningful way.
Bringing Sweden into the fold would simplify defense planning for the alliance. NATO would benefit not just from Sweden’s combat aircraft, naval prowess and other military assets but also being able to easily shuttle troops or equipment across Nordic territory.
But before Sweden can join, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who extended his presidency into a third decade after winning last month’s elections, may need to balance a tough approach with getting US congressional support for Turkey’s purchase of American-made F-16 fighter jets. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a call last week discussed Sweden’s membership and the F-16 sale, which remains in limbo.
The terrorism-financing charges were filed in Sweden on Friday against a man who allegedly sought to extort money on behalf of the PKK in January this year. He is accused of attempted extortion, attempted terrorism financing and illegal firearm possession. The preliminary investigation reveals his expressions of support for the PKK as well as his association with an alleged prominent figure in the group’s campaigns to raise funds from Kurds in Europe.
Hungary is expected to back Sweden’s membership as soon as Turkey signals it plans to do so, as the country did with Finland’s application.
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