Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Saturday, Jun 21, 2025

Sweden still has requirements to meet to join NATO: Turkey

Sweden still has requirements to meet to join NATO: Turkey

Stockholm is not even halfway through fulfilling the commitments it made to secure Ankara’s support, Turkey says.
Turkey appreciates Sweden’s steps so far as it seeks approval to join NATO but it is not even halfway through fulfilling the commitments it made to secure Ankara’s support for its membership, the Turkish foreign minister says.

Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday that a Swedish court’s decision not to extradite a man wanted by Turkey for alleged links to a failed 2016 coup had “poisoned” a positive atmosphere in negotiations on Sweden’s membership in the military alliance.

Sweden and Finland dropped their longstanding policies of military neutrality this year and decided to apply to join NATO after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The move requires the unanimous approval of the alliance’s current 30 members.

Turkey has held up the process while pressing the two Nordic countries to crack down on groups it considers to be “terrorist” organisations and to extradite people suspected of “terror-related” crimes.

The parliaments of 28 NATO countries have already ratified Sweden’s and Finland’s memberships. Turkey and Hungary are the only members that haven’t yet given their approval.


Speaking at a joint news conference in Ankara with Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström, Cavusoglu said the Turkish government still was waiting for a “concrete development” on extraditions and asset freezes.

Turkish defence companies have also been unable to procure some equipment from Sweden despite the lifting of a weapons ban, he added.

“There is a document – it needs to be implemented. We’re not even at the halfway point yet. We’re at the beginning,” he said, referring to a memorandum of understanding that Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed in June.

Under the deal, the two countries agreed to address Turkey’s security concerns, including requests for the deportation and extradition of Kurdish fighters and people linked to a network run by US-based Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen. The Turkish government accuses Gulen of masterminding an attempted coup in 2016, which he denies.

Billström visited Turkey after Sweden’s top court refused to extradite journalist Bulent Kenes, whom Turkey accuses of being among the coup plotters. Kenes, who was granted asylum in Sweden, was the editor of the English-language Today’s Zaman newspaper, which was owned by the Gulen network and was closed down by the government as part of its crackdown on the group.

“The negotiations [between Turkey and Sweden] were continuing in a constructive way,” Cavusoglu said. “But this last [incident], the rejection of Kenes’s extradition, unfortunately seriously poisoned this atmosphere.”

Billström said Sweden is determined to fulfill its commitments and Stockholm was in the process of strengthening its “anti-terrorism” legislation.

A constitutional amendment will enter into force on January 1 that restricts the freedom of association of groups that engage in or support “terrorism”, he said.

The Swedish government also plans to introduce legislation that further impedes people taking part in the activities of “terrorist” groups, Billström said.


“My message to Minister Cavusoglu and to the Turkish people is clear: Sweden keeps its promises,” the minister said. “We take the agreement seriously. We have initiated steps on every paragraph, and we will continue to implement it.”

Billström later told The Associated Press news agency by phone that Sweden has stressed that cases such as Kenes’s are handled by independent courts.

“We are bound by this decision, and that is how it is,” he said.

Billström said conversations between Sweden and Turkey were taking place at multiple levels of government and that Ankara acknowledged Sweden had made strides in meeting the memorandum’s terms.

He could not give a time frame for when Turkey might be ready to approve Sweden’s NATO membership.

“We hope that we can become members at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July at the latest,” Billström said. “Our target is to have the application ratified by the Turkish parliament long before that.”

“Meetings are held in a good spirit,” he said. “We are heading in the right direction. We will gradually fulfill this memorandum.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
Black Box Recovered from Air India Crash Site
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Israel Launches 'Operation Rising Lion' Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Sites
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
Syria to Reconnect to Global Economy After 14 Years of Isolation
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Global News Roundup: From Ukraine's strategic military strikes and Russia's demands and Tensions Escalate in Ukraine, to serious legal issues faced by Britons in Bali and Trump's media criticism, the latest developments highlight a turbulent landscape
U.S. Reduces Military Presence in Syria
Trump Demands Iran End All Uranium Enrichment in Nuclear Talks
Iran Warns Europe Against Politicizing UN Nuclear Report
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
×