NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg did not achieve any breakthrough on Sunday in talks regarding Sweden’s membership in the military organization, during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The alliance wants Sweden to join it by the time US President Joe Biden meets other NATO leaders in Lithuania, on July 11 and 12, but Turkey and Hungary have not yet ratified this step.
All 31 member states must agree to the protocol for joining the candidate for NATO membership.
The Turkish government accuses Sweden of being too lenient with terrorist organizations and security threats, including militant Kurdish groups and people linked to the 2016 coup attempt.
Hungary also postponed its approval without explaining the reasons.
“President Erdogan and I agreed today that the permanent joint mechanism should meet again before June 12. Sweden’s (NATO) membership will make it safer, and it will strengthen NATO and Turkey,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Istanbul.
This mechanism was established to deal with Türkiye’s concerns about Sweden and Finland.
Finland joined the alliance, becoming the 31st member of NATO, last April.
“Sweden has fulfilled its membership obligations,” Stoltenberg said.
He pointed out that it had amended its constitution, strengthened its anti-terrorism laws, and lifted the arms embargo imposed on Turkey since it applied to join NATO more than a year ago.
Fearing they might be targeted by Moscow after last year’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional positions of military non-alignment to seek protection under the NATO umbrella.
While Stoltenberg held talks in Istanbul, hundreds of people, including dozens of pro-Kurdish demonstrators, gathered in Stockholm to demonstrate against Sweden’s planned membership in the alliance. Up to 500 people took part in the action under the title “No to (NATO), No to Erdogan’s laws in Sweden”.
They rallied under the banner of the “Coalition Against NATO,” an umbrella group of Kurdish organizations, left-wing groups, anarchists, youth, climate activists, and people opposed to Sweden’s new anti-terror laws, which took effect on June 1, as well as those advocating for a free media.
In January, a protest in Stockholm, including the burning of a copy of the Koran, halted Sweden’s NATO membership talks after Erdogan suspended the meetings. The incident led to anti-Swedish demonstrations throughout the Muslim world.
Stoltenberg seems to suggest that the protests may have been raised during his talks.
“I understand that it is difficult to see anti-Turkey and anti-NATO demonstrations in Sweden…but let me be clear, freedom of assembly and expression are core values in our democratic societies. These rights must be protected and upheld,” Stoltenberg said.
(Associated Press)
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2023-06-04 15:46:14
