Stoltenberg is likely to join Finland and Sweden to NATO this year and Stockholm: We cannot meet all of Ankara's demands

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg suggested that Finland and Sweden would join the alliance this year, once again calling on Turkey to complete the accession process for both countries, while Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Christerson considered that Ankara had been obstructing since last May. The accession of the two countries to the alliance.

Stoltenberg said during a conference on defense and security that the time has come to end this, given the commitment of the two countries to cooperate with the Turkish side, considering that Finland and Sweden have implemented the agreement and are committed to long-term cooperation with Ankara on issues between the two sides.

For his part, the Swedish Prime Minister said that Ankara had pushed demands that could not be met to agree to his country's accession to the alliance, stressing in return his country's confidence that Turkey would agree to the request to join.

Christerson added, "We are convinced that Turkey will make a decision, and we do not know when exactly," noting that "the decision is in Turkey's camp."

These positions came a few days after the Swedish Supreme Court refused to deport Turkish journalist Bulent Kennish, who is calling for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to extradite him.

positive measures

At the end of last December, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Stockholm had taken "positive measures," but that Ankara was waiting for "other big steps" to withdraw its objection to Sweden's accession to the alliance.

It is noteworthy that the parliaments of Turkey and Hungary are the only ones who did not ratify the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO.

Meanwhile, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said that the course of implementing the memorandum concluded between Turkey, Sweden and Finland "is in full swing, and we are progressing little by little."

For his part, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto confirmed - on the sidelines of the conference yesterday, Sunday - that his country will join NATO at the same time as its neighbour.

Haavisto told reporters that his country is not in a hurry to join NATO, and can wait for Sweden to obtain approval.

He pointed out that the Swedish and Finnish parliament speakers are expected to visit Ankara in mid-January, and another meeting is scheduled to be organized between officials from the three countries in the spring.

previous visit

The Swedish prime minister - who heads a conservative government - made one of his first foreign visits to Ankara in early November, in an effort to lift the Turkish objection.

Finland and Sweden signed a tripartite agreement with Turkey in 2022 aimed at overcoming Ankara's objections to their NATO membership.

Last May, the two countries submitted two requests to join the alliance in the aftermath of the Russian-Ukrainian war, but Turkey objected and accused them of harboring militants, including members of the Kurdistan Workers Party.