'The decision rests with Turkey': Sweden awaits Ankara's approval to join NATO

Sweden Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has denied fulfilling all the wishes of Turkey as Ankara stalls Stockholm’s NATO application. Kristersson simply asserted that Sweden cannot meet some of the demands proposed by Turkey as the country is still struggling to get Turkey’s nod over its NATO membership. In May 2022, Sweden along with its nordic neighbour Finland decided to apply for NATO membership due to the chaos which erupted after the Russia-Ukraine war. However, the countries faced challenges from countries like Hungary and Turkey, which attempted to stall the formal inclusion of both countries in the US-led alliance. 

“Turkey has confirmed that we have done what we said we would do, but it also says that it wants things that we can't, that we don't want to give it. Now the decision rests with Turkey,” the Swedish Prime Minister said on Sunday. PM Ulf Kristersson was attending a security conference which was also attended by the NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. During the conference, the Swedish Prime Minister highlighted the trilateral memorandum which was signed between Turkey, Sweden, and Finland in 2022 and made it clear that Stolkhom has cooperated with the Erdogan administration to a great extent. In the agreement, the countries agreed on several commitments including recognizing the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as a terrorist organisation. 

NATO chief hopes for quick resolution of the stalemate

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg hopes that both countries join NATO “as early as this year”. Even the Swedish Prime Minister has expressed his optimism about the stalemate. Kristersson exclaimed, “We are convinced that Turkey will make a decision, we just don't know when." The Prime Minister also mentioned the fact that Turkey’s final decision will also depend on Ankara’s current internal political situation. When asked if the Erdogan administration will ratify the Stolkholms’ bid, the Swedish Prime Minister quipped that this was “impossible to know”. 

Meanwhile, Finland has made it clear that it is in no hurry to join the alliance. Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto asserted that even if Finland’s bid gets accepted before Sweden, the country will still wait for its Scandinavian neighbour. Keeping on the promise of joining the North Atlantic alliance “hand in hand”, the Finland FM asserted, “Finland is not in such a rush to join NATO that we can't wait until Sweden gets the green light." While 30 NATO members have already ratified the bids of both nations, only Hungary and Turkey are yet to ratify their applications. However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has pledged in 2022 that his parliament will approve the accession applications of both Sweden and Finland. Hence the ball lies in Turkey’s court as Ankara remains the main holdout of the Scandinavian bid.