Erdogan Dampens Hopes of Sweden Joining NATO in July

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday rebuffed growing international pressure on Ankara to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership bid before the Western defense alliance meets in July. 

Western officials had hoped Erdogan would soften his position on the diplomatically charged issue after he secured a hard-fought re-election last month. 

But Erdogan signaled no major shift in comments released by his office as Turkish and Swedish officials were locked in a new round of talks in Ankara. 

“Sweden has expectations. It doesn’t mean that we will comply with them,” Erdogan was quoted as saying. 

“In order for us to meet these expectations, first of all, Sweden must do its part.” 

Sweden and its Nordic neighbor Finland ended decades of military nonalignment and applied to join the U.S.-led defense bloc in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Turkey and fellow NATO member Hungary – both pushing a more accommodating line with Russia – were the last to ratify Finland’s membership this year. But both countries’ parliaments have yet to approve Sweden’s entry. 

Unanimous backing is needed for new countries to secure the guarantees afforded by the world’s most powerful defense alliance. 

‘Let’s get that done’ 

U.S. President Joe Biden pressed Erdogan about Sweden during a call he placed a day after the Turkish leader extended his two-decade rule until 2028. 

Ankara hopes to win U.S. congressional approval of a major defense package that could substantially modernize Turkey’s aging fleet of fighter jets. 

Biden directly linked the F-16 fighters’ sale with the Swedish bid for the first time. 

Erdogan “still wants to work on something on the F-16s. I told him we wanted a deal with Sweden, so let’s get that done,” Biden told reporters after the call. 

And NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg personally discussed the bid with Erdogan in Istanbul ahead of an alliance summit in Lithuania in July. 

Erdogan noted that Stoltenberg’s visit coincided with a protest held in Stockholm by supporters of a Kurdish group classified as a terrorist organization by Ankara. 

Turkey is pushing Sweden to crack down on such rallies. 

“There are rights given to [Sweden’s] law enforcement under the constitution. Use those rights,” Erdogan said. “If you don’t deal with it, we cannot [say yes] at the summit in Vilnius.” 

‘Far from finish line’

Sweden has already toughened its anti-terrorism legislation and taken other measures aimed at meeting Turkey’s concerns. 

It has agreed to extradite a self-proclaimed supporter of the Kurdish militants convicted of drug trafficking and arrested in Sweden in August last year. 

Turkey “was able to raise some concerns that it had,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week. 

“Finland and Sweden have both addressed those concerns and, in our judgment, addressed them appropriately and effectively.”  

Wednesday’s lower-level talks in Ankara ended with an agreement for the two sides and Finland to meet again at an undisclosed time. 

“This has been a meeting that has moved the process forward, but we are still far from the finish line,” Swedish negotiator Oscar Stenstrom said after the talks. 

“Once again the conversation focused on how well Sweden is meeting its commitments … and very specifically how well Sweden is fighting [Kurdish militants] and terrorism.” 

The Swedish police have cited the right to free expression and assembly while allowing a series of anti-Erdogan and anti-NATO protests in Stockholm in the past year. 

Stoltenberg tried to underline the “progress” achieved in Wednesday’s talks. 

“It’s still possible – I can’t guarantee it, of course – but it’s possible to have an agreement in place by the summit,” the NATO chief said in Brussels. 

Turkey’s parliament has returned from its election campaign break and is scheduled to be in session until the two-day Vilnius summit starts on July 11. 

Hungary’s parliament has extended its current session – which had been due to end on Thursday – until July 7. 
…