Turkish, Swedish foreign ministers agree to more talks after permanent joint mechanism meeting

ISTANBUL (AA) — The foreign ministers of Türkiye and Sweden agreed on Wednesday to hold more talks after a permanent joint mechanism meeting between the two countries.

In a phone call, Türkiye's Hakan Fidan told his Swedish counterpart Tobias Billstrom that concrete steps were needed to make progress on Sweden's bid to join NATO, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

For his part, Billstrom congratulated Fidan, who was appointed last week to the role of foreign minister, on his new post, the statement added.

Though Türkiye approved Finland's NATO membership after it applied with Sweden, it is waiting for Stockholm to abide by a trilateral memorandum signed last June in Madrid to address Ankara's security concerns.

Sweden passed an anti-terror law last November, hoping that Ankara would approve Stockholm's bid to join NATO. The new law, effective as of June 1, allows authorities to prosecute individuals who support terrorist groups.

Turkish officials have said they hope the law bans shows of support for terrorist groups like the PKK, just as Sweden would not all allow Daesh/ISIS supporters to march in support of that terrorist group.

Several foreign ministers have said they hope Türkiye will approve Sweden's bid ahead of a NATO summit set for next month in Lithuania's capital Vilnius.

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 more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the terrorist group’s Syrian branch.