NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday demanded that Turkey unblock the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO by ratifying the entry protocol of both Scandinavian countries, after defending that they are complying with the agreements with Ankara on anti-terrorism and committed to the long-term security of the country.
«Sweden and Finland are fulfilling their commitments and are clearly committed in the long term to Turkey’s security, so it is time to welcome both as full members,» said the former Norwegian prime minister at a press conference with the Turkish foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, from Istanbul where he has traveled to unblock the process, paralyzed by Turkish suspicions.
The entry of Sweden and Finland is pending ratification by Turkey and Hungary, the only NATO members that have not completed the procedure, which threatens to delay their entry into the military organization. In view of this, Stoltenberg has defended the commitment of Stockholm and Helsinki to what was signed in the margins of the NATO leaders’ summit in Madrid to address Turkey’s concerns to combat groups such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
«It is time to make them full members of the Alliance,» the NATO leader has demanded, expressing his hope that this will happen «in the near future» once the Turkish Parliament gives its approval.
Likewise, Stoltenberg recalled that given the moment Europe is going through with the war in Ukraine, it is necessary to send a strong message to Russia that the door of the military organization is open and to avoid misunderstandings with respect to both Scandinavian nations, which are not officially members of NATO but whose security in case of an attack has been guaranteed by several allies.
TURKEY INSISTS ON EXTRADITIONS At the same press conference, Cavusoglu acknowledged that Sweden and Finland are taking steps in the right direction, including legislative changes and the lifting of the embargo on arms sales to Ankara, but insisted that there are still measures to be implemented.
«Not all elements of the memorandum are being implemented, there are positive steps and we don’t want to damage the NATO enlargement process, but we want to see these countries take concrete steps against terrorism,» he said.
In this regard, the Turkish minister has stuck to his thirteen and reiterated that the deadlines for Sweden and Finland’s entry into NATO will depend on whether they have adopted the premises signed in the trilateral agreement. «The ratification will be in Parliament and it is important then to show the Turks that the necessary steps have been taken,» he said.
Ankara insists that Sweden and Finland are still not complying when it comes to extraditing suspected terrorists wanted by the Turkish authorities, despite the fact that it is an «indispensable» condition for achieving NATO enlargement.
Cavusoglu has also opened the door to separating the Stockholm process from that of Helsinki, by declaring that Ankara «does not have such a problem» with respect to Finland and that it awaits the progress of the new Swedish Executive of the conservative Ulf Kristersson, which it demands to extradite persons linked to the PKK. Precisely, the new Swedish Prime Minister will travel to Turkey on November 8 as part of the Swedish authorities’ attempts to unblock its accession to NATO.
