Sweden to continue talks with Türkiye over NATO membership, says premier

By Atila Altuntas

STOCKHOLM (AA) - Sweden will continue talks with Türkiye over the country’s NATO bid, the Swedish prime minister said on Tuesday.

"I would say this is an ongoing dialogue," Magdalena Andersson told Sweden's official news agency TT.

Asked if she would visit the Turkish capital Ankara to have a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the issue, Andersson said: "We will do what is right in the process."

Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO on May 18, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24.

But Türkiye, a longstanding member of the alliance, has voiced objections to their membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups such as the YPG/PKK and FETO. The accession requires unanimous approval from all 30 NATO member states.

Last week, Türkiye hosted consultations with Swedish and Finnish delegations on their NATO applications in Ankara. Erdogan said the meetings had not been “at the desired level."

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Türkiye, in which 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.