ISTANBUL (dpa-AFX) – In the dispute over the planned admission of Sweden and Finland to NATO, Turkey has little hope of quickly giving up its blockade stance. After a phone call between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the Turkish Communications Ministry announced that Ankara is demanding written commitments to a “paradigm shift” from both countries in the “fight against terrorism” and for cooperation in the defense industry.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said documents sent by Sweden and Finland were far from meeting Turkey’s expectations, according to state-run Anadolu News Agency.
Sweden in particular had previously announced concessions. According to Stoltenberg on Monday, the country has already started to change its anti-terror legislation. In addition, it should be ensured that the legal framework for arms exports reflects Sweden’s future status as a NATO member with new obligations towards allies.
Sweden and Finland applied to join the defense alliance in mid-May. So far, however, Turkey has blocked the admission process and justifies its position with the alleged support of Finland and Sweden for “terrorist organizations” such as the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK and the Syrian Kurdish militia YPG.
When asked when the problem will be solved, Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that he could not say exactly. We are looking for ways to find a solution as soon as possible.
The original plan was to sign the so-called accession protocols before the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June. Sweden and Finland would then have been able to take part in the summit meeting as “invited parties” and only the ratification of the protocols would have remained before admission./apo/DP/he