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[1/3] Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan and Finland's President Sauli Niinisto shake hands during their meeting in Ankara, Turkey March 17, 2023. The parliaments of all 30 NATO members must ratify newcomers. "We have decided to initiate the ratification of Finland's accession process to NATO in our parliament," Erdogan told reporters after meeting with Niinisto, adding he hoped parliament would endorse the bid before May 14 elections. Amid simmering tensions with Sweden, Erdogan signalled in January that Turkey could endorse Helsinki ahead of Stockholm. Washington and other NATO members had hoped the two Nordic countries would join the alliance at a NATO summit set for July 11 in Vilnius.

☆ Sweden NATO membership is happening, Swedish foreign minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSweden NATO membership is happening, Swedish foreign minister saysSweden has fulfilled conditions it agreed to at the NATO Summit in Madrid last summer, so it is time for the Turkish Parliament to begin the ratification process, Tobias Billström, Sweden's minister of foreign affairs, told CNBC.

☆ Sweden and Finland's NATO membership is a 'matter of time' amid Turkey negotiations, Swedish foreign minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sweden and Finland are firmly on course to become NATO members this year, Sweden's foreign minister said Wednesday, amid strained negotiations with Turkey over their admittance. Turkey's opposition to Sweden and Finland's NATO membership centers around what, it says, is their harboring of militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Hungary is the other ratification holdout, though local media reported Tuesday that its Parliament could ratify NATO membership for Finland and Sweden early next month. That included preparing to deliver new legislation to the Swedish Parliament in March, he said. He also said that Swedish membership at the NATO summit in July was the goal.

☆ Russia's war in Ukraine backfired by uniting NATO, even as cracks emerged over nearly a year of fighting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Jake Epstein | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

When Putin invaded Ukraine, he miscalculated the response from Western countries. NATO has been largely united in its response to Russia's war, consistently providing Kyiv with military aid. Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively succeeded in remaking the Western bloc, Araud said, adding that "the Western alliance is back." After the Soviet Union collapsed, both Finland and Sweden became NATO partner countries but stopped short of pursuing full membership. Even under the intense pressure of war, the alliance is "holding the way that they have in the past," he said.

☆ Finland’s top diplomat hints at joining NATO without Sweden
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Finland’s top diplomat appeared to suggest Tuesday that the country may have to consider joining NATO without Sweden after Turkey’s president cast serious doubt on the expansion of the military alliance. Haavisto later backpedaled, telling reporters in Parliament that his comment earlier Tuesday had been “imprecise” and that Finland’s ambition to join NATO jointly with Sweden remained unchanged. “But of course there have been raised concerns within NATO on how the (recent) incidents in Sweden will affect the schedule,” Haavisto said. Until now, Sweden and Finland have been committed to joining the alliance together, but Haavisto’s comment to YLE raised concerns that Finland was considering proceeding without its Nordic neighbor. “Sweden respects the agreement between Sweden, Finland and Turkey regarding our NATO membership.

☆ Erdogan to Sweden: Don't expect Turkish support for NATO bid after Stockholm protest
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ANKARA, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Sweden should not expect Turkey's support for its NATO membership after a protest near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm at the weekend including the burning of a copy of the Koran, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday. "Those who allow such blasphemy in front of our embassy (in Stockholm) can no longer expect our support for their NATO membership," Erdogan said in a speech after a cabinet meeting. "But Sweden will respect the agreement that exists between Sweden, Finland and Turkey regarding our NATO membership," he added. Sweden and Finland applied last year to join NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine but all 30 member states must approve their bids. Turkey had already summoned Sweden's ambassador about the incident, cancelled a planned visit by Swedish defence minister to Ankara and strongly condemned the event.

☆ Protests in Stockholm, including Koran-burning, draw condemnation from Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Permitting this anti-Islam act, which targets Muslims and insults our sacred values, under the guise of freedom of expression is completely unacceptable," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. The Turkish ministry urged Sweden to take necessary actions against the perpetrators and invited all countries to take concrete steps against Islamophobia. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said that Islamophobic provocations were appalling. "Saudi Arabia calls for spreading the values of dialogue, tolerance, and coexistence, and rejects hatred and extremism," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "We will continue our opposition to the Swedish NATO application," Thomas Pettersson, spokesperson for Alliance Against NATO and one of organizers of the demonstration, told Reuters.

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.

WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday said he is convinced the United States will be able to call Sweden and Finland NATO allies soon and said Turkey's concerns about the two nations joining the alliance are being addressed. And it's not going to turn into one," Blinken said, adding that Finland and Sweden have had a productive process working with Turkey to address concerns and concrete steps have been taken. NATO makes its decisions by consensus, meaning that the two Nordic nations require the approval of all 30 alliance member states. Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said Finland hoped to finalize the process of NATO membership soon. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said the NATO accession process was "progressing well."

☆ 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's Erdogan to meet Swedish PM Kristersson to discuss extraditions, NATO bid
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERSISTANBUL, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said he will meet Sweden's new prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, to discuss Stockholm's bid to join NATO as well as the extradition of people Ankara considers terrorists. Sweden and fellow Nordic country Finland launched their bids to join NATO in May in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but they ran into objections from Turkey. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterErdogan said Kristersson, who took office on Monday, sided with the fight againt terrorism, Turkish broadcaster NTV reported. Erdogan has said Turkey's parliament would not approve the Nordic countries' NATO bids if they do not extradite the people Ankara has requested. Sweden has taken "concrete action" to address Turkey's concerns over its NATO membership bid, Stockholm told Ankara in a letter dated Oct. 6 and seen by Reuters.

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