Though Türkiye did not see the progress it anticipated, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg believes Sweden deserved the support of Ankara for approval of its membership in the alliance.
"I have said that time has come to bring to an end the ratification process for Sweden,” Stoltenberg told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet in an interview released on Monday.
In May, Sweden and neighboring Finland dropped their longstanding policies of military nonalignment and applied to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The move requires the unanimous approval of the alliance members. Türkiye has held up the process while pressing the two Nordic countries to crack down on terrorist groups and to deport people suspected of terror-related crimes.
Last month, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Sweden was not even "halfway” through fulfilling the commitments it made to secure Ankara’s support. His remarks came after a Swedish court ruled against extraditing a man wanted by Türkiye for links to the July 15, 2016, coup attempt perpetrated by military infiltrators of the Gülenist Terrorist Group (FETÖ).
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said that Sweden has lived up to its commitments and that the decision now "lies with Türkiye.” "We have a very good process together with Finland and Türkiye and are doing exactly what we said, which Türkiye is now confirming,” Kristersson said on Sunday, the first day of the three-day People and Defense conference in Salen, a ski resort in central Sweden. Stoltenberg and Swedish foreign policy and security experts attended the event.
"Legislation banning participation in terrorist organizations is being implemented, and Türkiye is known to name individuals it wants to be extradited. It is also known that Sweden has legislation that is clear and means that it is up to the courts. We also do not extradite Swedish citizens to any country.”
There was no immediate reaction from Türkiye to the comments by Stoltenberg and Kristersson.
The parliaments of 28 NATO countries have already ratified Sweden and Finland’s membership. Türkiye and Hungary are the only members that haven’t yet given their approval.
Under the memorandum, the two countries agreed to address Türkiye’s security concerns, including requests for the deportation and extradition of Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and PKK members. However, Sweden’s top court has refused to extradite Bülent Keneş, a prominent FETÖ suspect. Keneş had earlier received asylum in Sweden.
