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☆ Turkey plans to ratify Finland's NATO bid ahead of May polls, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Orhan Coskun | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A senior Turkish official told Reuters that Finland's bid would be approved independently from that of Sweden. Niinisto, who will visit Turkey on March 16-17, said he believed Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will give his blessing to Finland's NATO bid when the two meet. Erdogan indicated that he would send ratification of Finland's NATO membership to parliament soon, saying that he would "keep his promise". After that, we will fulfil our promise," Erdogan told reporters on Wednesday, when asked whether he would send ratification of Finland's NATO bid to Turkish parliament next week. "Positive messages will be given to Finland's president during his visit," the second official said.

London CNN —The European Union is setting up a working group to examine whether frozen Russian assets can be used to rebuild Ukraine. The statement added that part of this work would involve obtaining a “clearer picture” of where Russian state-owned assets are located and their value. “In principle, it is clear-cut: Russia must pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said. A senior EU official estimated earlier this month that the European Union and Western allies had frozen more than $300 billion in Russian central bank assets that could potentially be used to rebuild Ukraine. The European Union is also working on a tenth package of sanctions against Russia.

☆ EU seeks to use frozen Russian funds to rebuild Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OSLO, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The European Union will on Wednesday launch an ad hoc group to investigate how billions of dollars in frozen Russian funds, including central bank reserves, can be used for reconstruction work in Ukraine, the Swedish government said on Tuesday. "The mandate is to contribute to mapping which funds have been frozen in the European Union ... and secondly how to legally proceed to access those funds," Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a news conference in Stockholm. "It's Russian tax payers, not all other tax payers, who must bear the cost of the necessary reconstruction work," Kristersson added. Among the key assets will be Russian central bank funds expected to amount to tens of billions of dollars, Ahnlid said. "The EU has never before used frozen funds for the reconstruction of a war-torn country, so we are in a sense chartering new territory," Ahnlid added.

☆ NATO boss: more important Sweden, Finland join soon than together
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Andrew Gray | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Western officials have said they would prefer both countries to join NATO together, partly because it would be easier to integrate them at the same time into military structures. "The main question is not whether Finland and Sweden are ratified together. The main question is that they are both ratified as full members as soon as possible," he told reporters. "I'm confident that both will be full members and I'm working hard to get both ratified as soon as possible." Stoltenberg said Sweden and Finland had already come much closer to NATO in recent months and noted that all alliance members had approved the invitations to join.

☆ Factbox: Will Ukraine get Western fighter jets and what are the challenges?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday several Western countries were ready to provide Kyiv with aircraft to defeat Russia's invasion. Ukraine has been asking allies to provide modern fighter jets - dubbed "wings for freedom" in Zelenskiy's speech to British lawmakers this week - to replace its ageing fleet of Soviet MiG and Sukhoi planes. WILL UKRAINE GET THE FIGHTER JETS? Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson did not rule out sending fighter jets but played down expectations, saying the issue was not on Stockholm's agenda at the moment. The Kremlin has said that Western countries would be moving towards direct conflict with Russia if they send jets.

☆ Swedish PM ready to restart talks with Turkey when Ankara is
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TALLINN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Tuesday he was ready to restart stalled negotiations over Sweden's application to join NATO as soon as Turkey was. It is hard to have good talks when things are literally burning around you," Kristersson told a news conference during a visit to Estonia's capital. He said preconditions for restarting talks were good, but that with Turkish elections due in May, it was understandable Turkey was focused on domestic policy. "The goal is to be accepted as soon as possible, both Finland and Sweden," Niinisto told a joint news conference in Helsinki with Canada's visiting governor general. Finland and Sweden are progressing in full "co-understanding" and remain in close contact with NATO's headquarters, the White House and Turkey, Niinisto said.

☆ Turkey's Erdogan signals Finland's NATO bid may be considered over Sweden
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signalled on Sunday that Ankara may agree to Finland joining NATO ahead of Sweden, amid growing tensions with Stockholm. "We may deliver Finland a different message (on their NATO application) and Sweden would be shocked when they see our message. But Finland should not make the same mistake Sweden did," Erdogan said in a televised speech aired on Sunday. Sweden and Finland applied last year to join NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and need all member countries' approval to join. If you don't extradite them, then sorry about that," Erdogan said, referring to Turkey's agreement with Sweden and Finland last June over their NATO application.

☆ Sweden tells citizens to avoid crowds in Turkey after Koran burning
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

STOCKHOLM, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Sweden's foreign ministry on Saturday warned Swedes in Turkey to avoid crowds and demonstrations following protests there over the burning of the Koran by a far-right politician in Stockholm last week. Paludan's actions have led to demonstrations in a number of Muslim countries as well as in Turkey. "Swedes in Turkey are asked to stay updated on the development of events and to avoid large gatherings and demonstrations," the foreign ministry said on its advice page for Swedes abroad. "Continued demonstrations can be expected outside the embassy in Ankara and the consulate general in Istanbul in the coming days." Burning books that are holy to many is a deeply disrespectful act," Kristersson said on Twitter.

☆ Turkey says it is "meaningless" to restore NATO dialogue with Sweden, Finland
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ANKARA, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday it was "meaningless" to hold a trilateral meeting with Sweden and Finland to discuss their NATO bids after protests this month in Stockholm. Speaking at a news conference, Cavusoglu also said there is no offer to evaluate Sweden's and Finland's NATO membership seperately. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said his country wanted to restore NATO dialogue with Turkey after Ankara indefinitely postponed trilateral talks with Sweden and Finland over their membership. Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Ali Kucukgocmen; Writing by Huseyin HayatseverOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Right-wing Quran burning in Sweden enrages Turkey and throws a new wrench in Nordics’ NATO bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Rasmus Paludan holds a burning Koran outside of the Turkish embassy on January 21, 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden. Jonas Gratzer | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesOn Saturday, far-right demonstrators burned a Quran and chanted anti-Muslim slogans in front of Turkey's embassy in Stockholm, Sweden. Several media outlets and independent journalist gather to see Rasmus Paludan stage a Koran burning outside the Turkish embassy on January 21, 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson reportedly denounced the protest as an act of "sabotage" against the country's NATO membership bid. Nonetheless, he expressed confidence that Turkey would approve his country's NATO bid.

☆ Swedish PM says wants to restore NATO dialogue with Turkey as soon as possible
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

STOCKHOLM, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Sweden wants to restore dialogue with Turkey over the applications by Sweden and Finland applications to quickly join NATO, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Tuesday. "No other national security question is more important than that we, together with Finland, quickly become members of NATO," Kristersson told reporters. Turkey has indefinitely postponed trilateral talks with Sweden and Finland over their membership bids after weekend protests in Stockholm which saw a far-right politician burn a copy of the Koran near Turkey's embassy. Reporting by Simon JohnsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sweden to send infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

STOCKHOLM, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The Swedish government announced a new package of military aid to Ukraine on Thursday that will include armoured infantry fighting vehicles and the Archer artillery system. "Ukraine's victory in this war is of almost indescribable importance," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a news conference, adding that Ukraine was fighting for the freedom of all of Europe. Sweden will send about 50 of its tracked and armoured Type 90 infantry fighting vehicles. The government did not specify how many Archer systems it would supply. The focus is expected to be on whether Germany will send its Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine or at least approve their transfer from third countries.

☆ E.U. outlines plan for clean tech future boosted by subsidies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

“We know that we have a small window to invest in clean tech and innovation to gain leadership before the fossil fuel economy becomes obsolete,” von der Leyen said. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 17, 2023. “We have a compelling need to make this net-zero transition without creating new dependencies,” von der Leyen said. already waved through 672 billion euros ($727.5 billion) in aid to allow member states to deal with the impact of the war in Ukraine, any E.U. member states, European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager wrote last week that the U.S. plan “risks luring some of our E.U.

☆ Sweden, Finland must send up to 130 "terrorists" to Turkey for NATO bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ANKARA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Sweden and Finland must deport or extradite up to 130 "terrorists" to Turkey before the Turkish parliament will approve their bids to join NATO, President Tayyip Erdogan said. The two Nordic states applied last year to join NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine but their bids must be approved by all 30 NATO member states. Turkey has said Sweden in particular must first take a clearer stance against what it sees as terrorists, mainly Kurdish militants and a group it blames for a 2016 coup attempt. "For this to pass the parliament, first of all you have to hand more than 100, around 130 of these terrorists to us," Erdogan said. Separately on Monday Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson said that his country was in a "good position" to secure Turkey's ratification of its NATO bid.

☆ Swedish PM Kristersson says EU needs to discuss competitiveness, not just state-aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

STOCKHOLM, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The European Union needs to improve long-term competitiveness and not just provide support for companies in the green tech sector where nations like China and the United States are providing subsidies, Sweden's prime minister said on Friday. "We need to start a real discussion on how to improve productivity, how to enhance competitiveness and how to attract more companies based on our own capabilities and not based on long-term state aid rules," Ulf Kristersson told reporters during a media conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Reporting by Simon Johnson; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson attend the inauguration of Esrange's new satellite launch ramp, Spaceport Esrange outside Kiruna, Sweden, January 13, 2023. The Commission is planning to loosen state aid rules, but some EU countries can spend more than others. Von der Leyen said the bloc needed "credible and ambitious" financing tools to preserve the single market. She said the Commission was working on an assessment of what the EU clean tech sector needed to compete with U.S. rivals. Yet Scholz's own Social Democrats published a paper on Thursday saying that new EU joint borrowing should be "constructively examined".

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday that Sweden "cannot escape its responsibilities" by only condemning the incident. Turkish state-owned Anadolu news agency said an investigation into the incident was opened after Erdogan's lawyer filed a legal petition. "It is aimed, I would say, as a sabotage against the Swedish NATO application," he said. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said relations with Turkey were important and condemned the incident as shameless. On Sunday, Kristersson said Sweden was confident Turkey would approve its NATO bid but it would not meet all the conditions Ankara has set.

The proposed new legislation, which still needs to be passed by parliament, would allow new reactors to be constructed at additional locations across Sweden and was seen being in place in March next year. "We have an obvious need for more electricity production in Sweden," Kristersson told a news conference. "What we are doing today is changing legislation to allow for the construction of more nuclear reactors at more places." Any expansion of nuclear power in Sweden could take many years given the complexity of such projects while energy demand is expected to rise sharply in coming years. Sweden currently has six operational reactors, half of what it once had, and temporary closures for maintenance of some of them have contributed to push up electricity prices in the Nordic country in recent months.

☆ Sweden Can’t Meet Turkey’s Demands on NATO Expansion, Prime Minister Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Jared Malsin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ISTANBUL—Sweden’s prime minister said Sunday that his country can’t meet some of the demands made by Turkey in order for the Nordic nation to enter the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. “Turkey both confirms that we did what we said we would do, but they also say they want things we can’t and don’t want to give them,” said Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson , speaking at a security conference in Sälen, Sweden.

☆ Sweden says Turkey asking too much over NATO application
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks during the annual Society and Defence Conference in Salen, Sweden, January 8, 2023. TT News Agency/Henrik Montgomery via REUTERSSTOCKHOLM, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Sweden is confident that Turkey will approve its application to join the NATO military alliance, but will not meet all the conditions Ankara has set for its support, Sweden's prime minister said on Sunday. "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," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a defence think-tank conference in Sweden. Finland and Sweden signed a three-way agreement with Turkey in 2022 aimed at overcoming Ankara's objections to their membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. "From time to time, Turkey mentions individuals that they want to see extradited from Sweden.

☆ Sweden to deliver its biggest military aid package yet to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

STOCKHOLM, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Sweden will deliver new military aid worth 3 billion crowns ($287 million) to Ukraine, its biggest package of defence material to date which included an air defence system, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said. "It's a bigger military support package than all eight previous packages combined," Kristersson told a news conference. Defence Minister Pal Jonson said the new package of military equipment included an air defence system and ammunition from the stock piles of its armed forces, much needed to defend Ukraine against a fierce onslaught of Russian missiles in recent weeks. Sweden's previous Social Democrat government, which lost to Kristersson's right-wing coalition in elections in September, had agreed several tranches of aid to Ukraine, both military and humanitarian, worth well over 1 billion crowns. ($1 = 10.4538 Swedish crowns)Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, Stine Jacobsen and Niklas PollardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Swedish PM vows firmer stance in search for Turkey's approval for NATO bid
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Lehtikuva/Vesa Moilanen/via REUTERSANKARA, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Sweden's new prime minister vowed on Tuesday a firmer stance on fighting crime and terrorism during a visit to Turkey where he will seek the approval of President Tayyip Erdogan for his country's bid to join NATO. "I think the new government will have an even firmer approach in (relation to) the NATO application from Sweden," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters in Ankara during a visit to the Turkish parliament. "One of this government's main priorities is fighting crime, fighting organized crime, fighting the connection between organized crime and terrorism," he said. Sweden, along with the United States and several other NATO countries, has supported the YPG in its fight against Islamic State. "Sweden wants to join NATO to enhance our own security, but Sweden also wants to be a security provider for others," Kristersson said.

☆ Sweden to distance itself from Kurdish groups in bid to join NATO
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

STOCKHOLM, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Sweden's new government will distance itself from the Kurdish YPG militia as it tries to win Turkey's approval to join NATO, Sweden's foreign minister told Swedish Radio on Saturday. Sweden, along with the United States and several other NATO countries, has supported the YPG in the fight against Islamic State. However, Turkey has vowed to block Sweden's application to join NATO if it doesn't stop supporting the militia group. "There is too close a connection between these organizations and the PKK ... for it to be good for the relationship between us and Turkey," Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told public service broadcaster Swedish Radio. Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO earlier this year as a direct consequence of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Turkey says Sweden, Finland not yet done enough under NATO deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISTANBUL, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Turkey's foreign minister said on Thursday that Sweden and Finland have not yet fulfilled all obligations under a deal clearing their bids to join NATO, and they must still take concrete steps. Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Istanbul, also said Turkey observed that Sweden's new government under Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is taking a decisive approach to fulfilling obligations. Sweden and Finland signed a memorandum in June, resulting in NATO member Turkey lifting a veto of their applications to join the trans-Atlantic security alliance. The two asked to join in response to Russia's war in Ukraine, but Turkey sought extra guarantees, including that they not shelter Kurdish militants. Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; Writing by Jonathan SpicerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Finland urges Turkey, Hungary to swiftly approve Swedish, Finnish NATO bids
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Lehtikuva/Vesa Moilanen/via REUTERSHELSINKI, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Tuesday urged Hungary and Turkey to swiftly approve the Swedish and Finnish applications for membership of the NATO defence alliance. Hungary and Turkey are the only two remaining NATO members to not yet have ratified the applications. "All eyes are now on Hungary and Turkey. Finland and Sweden last week reiterated they would join NATO at the same time, presenting a united front to Turkey. Reporting by Essi Lehto and Anna Ringstrom, editing by Terje SolsvikOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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