MESOP MIDEAST WATCH: Sweden Unable to Fulfill All of Turkey’s Conditions to Join NATO: PM

BASNEWS ERBIL — 8-1-23 Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has made it clear that Sweden cannot fulfill all of Turkey’s conditions to win its support for joining the North Athletic Treaty Organization (NATO).

However, speaking to a defence think-tank conference in Sweden, Kristersson pointed out that his country is confident that Turkey will approve its application to join the NATO military alliance.

“Turkey both confirms that we have done what we said we would do, but they also say that they want things that we cannot or do not want to give them,” he said, according to Reuters.

Turkey has signed a three-way agreement with Sweden and Finland to overcome Ankara’s objections to the two European countries’ membership of the NATO.

The two countries applied to join the NATO in May in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine. However, Turkey refused to vote in favor of their membership and accused them of supporting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated as a “terrorist organization” by Ankara.