Ankara

Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson says Turkey is making too many demands on Sweden to join NATO. He is confident that Turkey will eventually accept Sweden’s NATO membership, but he believes that his country cannot fulfill all the conditions the Turks have set on the table.

It is unclear what conditions are involved. The prime minister said nothing about it at a conference of a Swedish defense think tank. “Turkey confirms that we have done what we promised,” said Kristersson. “But they also have demands that we are unable or unwilling to meet.”

Last May, Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. All NATO member states must accept the two countries’ membership. Most countries have done so, but Turkey opposes it, notwithstanding a deal concluded last summer between Turkey, Sweden and Finland.

According to Ankara, Finland and Sweden host “terrorist organizations”. President Erdogan refers to Kurdish militant movements such as the PKK and YPG. He wants countries to extradite dozens of “terrorists” to Turkey.

These include human rights activists and journalists, but also supporters of the Gülen movement. That group is blamed by Turkey for Turkey’s failed coup in 2016. In December Sweden has extradited a Turkish Kurd to Turkey. Another extradition was ordered by the Swedish Supreme Court blocked. He also took Sweden distance of the YPG.

Finland says it won’t join NATO without Sweden. “We applied for NATO membership together and we will go through the accession process together,” Foreign Minister Haavisto told the conference. “Sweden is our best friend. It is also not in Finland’s interest to join without Sweden.”