Sweden prepared to meet Turkey’s NATO objections by countering terror threats says new PM

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Chris King
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Sweden prepared to meet Turkey's NATO objections by countering terror threats says new PM
Image of Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ulf Kristersson. Credit: Twitter@RTErdogan

Ulf Kristersson, the country’s new Prime Minister, told Turkish President Erdogan that Sweden will counter terror threats to meet Turkey’s NATO objections.

 

Speaking during his trip to the Turkish capital of Ankara on Tuesday, November 8, Ulf Kristersson, the new prime minister of Sweden, pledged to work toward countering “terrorism” threats to Turkey.

Kristersson was in Ankara to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Sweden’s application for NATO membership revolves heavily around gaining Turkey’s approval. The two agreed to schedule another meeting in Stockholm at the end of this month. The PM said he was hoping for a “more positive conclusion” at the meeting.

“My government was elected just a few weeks ago on a mandate to put law and order first, and this includes countering terrorism and terrorist organisations like the PKK in Sweden”, said Kristersson during a joint press conference with the Turkish President.

“This is why I want to reassure all Turks: Sweden will live up to all the obligations made to Turkey in countering the terrorist threat before becoming a member of NATO and as a future ally” he added.

In response, Erdogan said that although the promised commitment by the new Swedish government to meeting obligations that were agreed upon between Turkey, Sweden, and Finland ahead of a NATO summit in June, his country still wanted to see ‘concrete steps’ being taken.

Following Turkey’s 2019 incursion into northern Syria to combat Kurdish militants, an arms embargo had been imposed on Ankara. The recent decision by Sweden to lift that ban was described as a ‘positive step’ by Erdogan, as reported by euronews.com.

The applications from both Sweden and Finland have not yet been endorsed by Turkey, which is a full member of NATO. Following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine back in February, both Nordic nations subsequently abandoned their longstanding policies of military nonalignment.

Erdogan explained: “Sweden wants NATO membership for its own security. We want to see a Sweden that supports our security concerns being met”.

Sweden has already deported at least four individuals who were wanted by Turkey confirmed the Turkish leader. While not saying exactly how many more suspects Ankara still wanted, he made it very clear that he expected the extradition of a journalist wanted for his alleged involvement in the coup attempt back in 2016.

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