Turkish President Erdogan Insists on Stopping Protests in Sweden before NATO Approval

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Sweden should not expect Ankara to give the green light to Stockholm’s request to join NATO at the summit scheduled to be held next month, unless it stops anti-Turkish protests in the Swedish capital.

And the Turkish president was quoted as telling reporters on a plane returning from Azerbaijan, on Tuesday, that his country could not respond positively to Sweden’s request to join NATO at a time when “terrorists” were demonstrating in Stockholm.

He added that Turkey’s position will become clear again in the talks with Swedish officials in Ankara today, Wednesday.

Erdogan made the remarks as officials from Turkey, Sweden, Finland and NATO met today in Ankara for talks in an attempt to overcome Turkish objections blocking Sweden’s bid to join the alliance.

Sweden’s chief negotiator, Oskar Stenström, said talks with Turkish officials had been good, and that discussions aimed at overcoming Turkish objections would continue, although a new date had not yet been set.

“My task is to convince Turkey that we have done enough. I think we have done that… But Ankara is not ready to make a decision yet and thinks it needs more answers to its questions,” he added.

The Turkish presidency said in a statement that the meeting discussed the level of progress made by Sweden under a tripartite agreement concluded in Madrid last year.

The statement said that the parties agreed to continue working on “possible concrete steps” for Sweden’s accession to NATO.

Turkey ratified in March Finland’s request to join the alliance after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but it still objects, along with Hungary, to Sweden’s accession to the alliance.

In justifying its objection to Sweden’s accession to the alliance, Ankara has accused Stockholm of harboring members of extremist Kurdish groups it considers terrorist.

Sweden says it has fulfilled its obligations in the agreement it struck with Turkey in Madrid aimed at addressing Ankara’s security concerns, including issuing a new anti-terrorism law this month.

It says it adheres to national and international extradition law.

Tensions between Turkey and Sweden have intensified recently over an anti-Turkish and NATO protest that took place in Stockholm last month when the flag of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the European Union was raised over the parliament building.

Commenting on the recent legal changes in Sweden, Erdogan said, “It is not just a matter of amending a law or constitutional change. What is the role of the police there? They have legal and constitutional rights and they must exercise their rights. The police must prevent these (protests).”

Erdogan said a similar protest was held in Stockholm while he was holding talks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg earlier this month.

He added that he had told Stoltenberg that Sweden should prevent such measures in order to ensure Turkey’s approval of its accession to NATO.

After his meeting with Erdogan, Stoltenberg said that an agreement could be reached for Sweden to join the alliance before its summit in Vilnius next month.