FORTRESS EUROPE
NATO chief presses Turkey to advance Sweden's membership application.LORNE COOK
Updated Thu, October 12, 2023
Sweden's Defense Minister Pal Jonson, left, arrives for a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov arrived at NATO for meetings with alliance defense ministers to further drum up support for Ukraine's fight against Russia.
(AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday pressed Turkey to quickly ratify Sweden's membership in the military organization, three months after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would help hasten the process in the Turkish parliament.
“Many allies would like to see speedy progress on this ratification," Stoltenberg told The Associated Press after chairing a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels. “Sweden has delivered on what they promised, and now we need the ratification of Swedish membership.”
Sweden and its neighbor Finland turned their backs on decades of military non-alignment after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022. Their aim was to seek protection under NATO’s security umbrella, and Finland joined in April.
All 31 NATO allies must endorse Sweden’s membership. Turkey and Hungary are dragging their feet. Erdogan spent months publicly saying he was withholding his country's approval because he believed that Sweden had been too soft on Kurdish militants and other groups that he considers to be security threats. Many allies doubted that.
Turkey also was angered by a series of Quran-burning protests in Sweden.
At a NATO summit in Lithuania's capital in July, Erdogan relented and said he would transmit Sweden’s accession protocol to the Turkish parliament for ratification, the final step for Turkey to endorse its candidature.
Stoltenberg said he welcomed a commitment Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler made during Thursday’s meeting which “made it clear that Turkey would stand by the agreement.” But it remains unclear when Ankara will do so.
Erdogan dropped his opposition in July after the Biden administration signaled it would let Turkey buy 40 new F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits from the United States. Ankara also received assurances from Sweden that it would help revive Turkey’s own quest to join the European Union.
Under the deal, NATO as an organization agreed to address Turkey's concerns about terrorism. Stoltenberg said Thursday that he had appointed Assistant Secretary General Tom Goffus will serve as his special coordinator for counter-terrorism.
“It demonstrates that NATO, Sweden, we have delivered on the agreement from Vilnius, and now we should also see that Turkey ratifies the Swedish accession,” Stoltenberg said.
It had been hoped that the long-awaited ratification would come soon after Oct. 1, when Turkey’s parliament resumed work following a summer recess. But on the same day, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the interior ministry in Ankara. Another would-be bomber was killed in a shootout with police. Two officers were wounded.
The attack prompted Turkey to mount airstrikes against suspected Kurdish militant sites in northern Iraq, against Syrian Kurdish militia in Syria, and to launch a series of raids across Turkey in which dozens of people with suspected links to the Kurdish militants were rounded up.
Hungary’s objections are not entirely clear. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has repeatedly said that his country would not be the last to endorse Sweden’s membership. That stance has left Stockholm and some allies perplexed, as no public demands have been made to win his approval.
Some vague allusions have surfaced. Orban’s government has alleged that Swedish politicians have told “blatant lies” about the state of Hungary’s democracy and that this has left some lawmakers unsure about whether to support the accession bid.
Last month, Orban said he was in no hurry. He told lawmakers that “nothing is threatening Sweden’s security,” and that Hungary was therefore in “no rush” to ratify its membership.
“I haven’t heard anything new about that from the Hungarian side,” Stoltenberg told the AP.
___
Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed.
Sweden Has Done Its Part on NATO Bid, Premier Says
Niclas Rolander, Firat Kozok and Selcan Hacaoglu
Fri, October 13, 2023
(Bloomberg) -- Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said there are no outstanding demands on his country from Turkey to secure the ratification of its entry bid for the NATO defense alliance, expecting the move to happen “relatively soon.”
It has been almost three months since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to support Sweden’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in a major breakthrough for the military alliance’s push to strengthen its defenses following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Still, the parliament in Ankara has not moved on the issue.
“We have done our part, and there is nothing additional that Sweden is doing or should do,” Kristersson told reporters on Friday. “We have lived up to our obligations to improve cooperation with Turkey to prevent PKK related financing or activities targeting Turkey.”
Speaking in Visby, on the Swedish island of Gotland, Kristersson cited “much better” cooperation between the two countries’ police and security services as an example of recent progress in Sweden implementing its pledges. He added “other countries are clearly impatient” for the ratification to happen, without naming any.
The decision to start the process to ratify Sweden’s NATO bid solely lies with Erdogan, who recently criticized Stockholm of not preventing Koran burnings in Sweden that sparked anger in the Muslim world and among his conservative support base. He also said Sweden must ensure supporters of separatist Kurdish militant groups, including the PKK, stop staging anti-Turkey protests.
“We are committed to our pledge made at the Vilnius Summit, but we expect Sweden to take concrete steps in the fight against terrorism and implement new legal regulations in the fight against terrorism,” Turkey’s Defense Minister Yasar Guler said in remarks which were distributed on Friday. “The final decision on ratification of its membership lies with our parliament.”
Sweden applied to join NATO for security reasons, alongside neighboring Finland, which gained entry in April, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. All member states have to agree on newcomers, and Turkey is the main holdout alongside Hungary, ostensibly due to the Kurdish issue.
On Thursday, a Swedish man was convicted of hate speech for a Koran-burning related offense for the first time, in what could help smooth the way for Turkey’s parliament to ratify Sweden’s entry. Still, it may prove to be inadequate as Ankara vies with Washington over F-16 fighter jets.
“Most people understand that this is not primarily about Sweden,” Kristersson said. “I won’t comment on bilateral issues between other countries, but I think everybody knows that there are many things being discussed simultaneously.”
BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday pressed Turkey to quickly ratify Sweden's membership in the military organization, three months after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would help hasten the process in the Turkish parliament.
“Many allies would like to see speedy progress on this ratification," Stoltenberg told The Associated Press after chairing a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels. “Sweden has delivered on what they promised, and now we need the ratification of Swedish membership.”
Sweden and its neighbor Finland turned their backs on decades of military non-alignment after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022. Their aim was to seek protection under NATO’s security umbrella, and Finland joined in April.
All 31 NATO allies must endorse Sweden’s membership. Turkey and Hungary are dragging their feet. Erdogan spent months publicly saying he was withholding his country's approval because he believed that Sweden had been too soft on Kurdish militants and other groups that he considers to be security threats. Many allies doubted that.
Turkey also was angered by a series of Quran-burning protests in Sweden.
At a NATO summit in Lithuania's capital in July, Erdogan relented and said he would transmit Sweden’s accession protocol to the Turkish parliament for ratification, the final step for Turkey to endorse its candidature.
Stoltenberg said he welcomed a commitment Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler made during Thursday’s meeting which “made it clear that Turkey would stand by the agreement.” But it remains unclear when Ankara will do so.
Erdogan dropped his opposition in July after the Biden administration signaled it would let Turkey buy 40 new F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits from the United States. Ankara also received assurances from Sweden that it would help revive Turkey’s own quest to join the European Union.
Under the deal, NATO as an organization agreed to address Turkey's concerns about terrorism. Stoltenberg said Thursday that he had appointed Assistant Secretary General Tom Goffus will serve as his special coordinator for counter-terrorism.
“It demonstrates that NATO, Sweden, we have delivered on the agreement from Vilnius, and now we should also see that Turkey ratifies the Swedish accession,” Stoltenberg said.
It had been hoped that the long-awaited ratification would come soon after Oct. 1, when Turkey’s parliament resumed work following a summer recess. But on the same day, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the interior ministry in Ankara. Another would-be bomber was killed in a shootout with police. Two officers were wounded.
The attack prompted Turkey to mount airstrikes against suspected Kurdish militant sites in northern Iraq, against Syrian Kurdish militia in Syria, and to launch a series of raids across Turkey in which dozens of people with suspected links to the Kurdish militants were rounded up.
Hungary’s objections are not entirely clear. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has repeatedly said that his country would not be the last to endorse Sweden’s membership. That stance has left Stockholm and some allies perplexed, as no public demands have been made to win his approval.
Some vague allusions have surfaced. Orban’s government has alleged that Swedish politicians have told “blatant lies” about the state of Hungary’s democracy and that this has left some lawmakers unsure about whether to support the accession bid.
Last month, Orban said he was in no hurry. He told lawmakers that “nothing is threatening Sweden’s security,” and that Hungary was therefore in “no rush” to ratify its membership.
“I haven’t heard anything new about that from the Hungarian side,” Stoltenberg told the AP.
___
Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed.
Sweden Has Done Its Part on NATO Bid, Premier Says
Niclas Rolander, Firat Kozok and Selcan Hacaoglu
Fri, October 13, 2023
(Bloomberg) -- Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said there are no outstanding demands on his country from Turkey to secure the ratification of its entry bid for the NATO defense alliance, expecting the move to happen “relatively soon.”
It has been almost three months since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to support Sweden’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in a major breakthrough for the military alliance’s push to strengthen its defenses following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Still, the parliament in Ankara has not moved on the issue.
“We have done our part, and there is nothing additional that Sweden is doing or should do,” Kristersson told reporters on Friday. “We have lived up to our obligations to improve cooperation with Turkey to prevent PKK related financing or activities targeting Turkey.”
Speaking in Visby, on the Swedish island of Gotland, Kristersson cited “much better” cooperation between the two countries’ police and security services as an example of recent progress in Sweden implementing its pledges. He added “other countries are clearly impatient” for the ratification to happen, without naming any.
The decision to start the process to ratify Sweden’s NATO bid solely lies with Erdogan, who recently criticized Stockholm of not preventing Koran burnings in Sweden that sparked anger in the Muslim world and among his conservative support base. He also said Sweden must ensure supporters of separatist Kurdish militant groups, including the PKK, stop staging anti-Turkey protests.
“We are committed to our pledge made at the Vilnius Summit, but we expect Sweden to take concrete steps in the fight against terrorism and implement new legal regulations in the fight against terrorism,” Turkey’s Defense Minister Yasar Guler said in remarks which were distributed on Friday. “The final decision on ratification of its membership lies with our parliament.”
Sweden applied to join NATO for security reasons, alongside neighboring Finland, which gained entry in April, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. All member states have to agree on newcomers, and Turkey is the main holdout alongside Hungary, ostensibly due to the Kurdish issue.
On Thursday, a Swedish man was convicted of hate speech for a Koran-burning related offense for the first time, in what could help smooth the way for Turkey’s parliament to ratify Sweden’s entry. Still, it may prove to be inadequate as Ankara vies with Washington over F-16 fighter jets.
“Most people understand that this is not primarily about Sweden,” Kristersson said. “I won’t comment on bilateral issues between other countries, but I think everybody knows that there are many things being discussed simultaneously.”
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