Sweden to take 'many steps' to win Turkey's approval for its NATO membership bid

Sweden on Tuesday resorted to taking concrete steps to convince Turkey to ratify its NATO bid. Sweden's parliament announced that it would vote next week on a constitutional amendment that would bolster the anti-terror laws fulfilling the demands of Ankara. Turkey, last week, conveyed its request to Sweden to implement the rules that would counter “terrorism” saying it would pave the way for approval of its application to join NATO. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a statement, told Swedish authorities that while Turkey understands Sweden's security concerns, "we want Sweden to respond to ours." 

Sweden mulling to fulfil all requirements under deal with Turkey

Sweden's parliament has unanimously voted for the proposed amendment that will make it possible to introduce new laws to "limit freedom of association of groups involved in terrorism," according to the reports. The voting was organised after Sweden's new Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson met with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ankara has been insisting that the two Nordic nations, Sweden and Finland, looking to join NATO shall not have their application ratified and objections lifted without first extraditing suspects alleged as terrorists behind the 2016 Turkish coup d'état. 

Both Sweden and Finland abandoned their longstanding neutral policy of military nonalignment and applied for NATO membership this year after Russia invaded Ukraine in February to boost their own defenses. But Turkey, that joined the NATO in 1952, is yet to endorse their accession as it needs a unanimous approval from all the members. 

Sweden's top diplomat said this week that the center-right government will fulfil all requirements under a deal with Turkey to join NATO and will abandon the previous administration's “feminist foreign policy." Swedish foreign minister Tobias Billström said the new government shares Turkey’s concern about the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which the latter considers a terrorist organisation. “There will be no nonsense from the Swedish government when it comes to the PKK,” Billström told the Associated Press in an interview. “We are fully behind a policy which means that terrorist organizations don’t have a right to function on Swedish territory.” Under a memorandum of understanding which was signed by Sweden’s previous left-leaning government at a NATO summit in June, Sweden and Finland vowed to withdraw their support of the Kurdish groups in Syria.