Türkiye urges Sweden to fulfill commitments in counterterrorism efforts for NATO ratification

Mevlut Cavusoglu conveyed a clear message on Twitter, stating: "A crystal clear message to our Swedish Friends! Fulfill your commitments arising from the Trilateral Memorandum & take concrete steps in the fight against terrorism. The rest will follow."

Earlier, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom, speaking at the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting in Oslo, stated that Sweden had fulfilled "all the commitments" necessary for NATO membership. He called on Türkiye and Hungary to ratify Sweden's bid for membership. Billstrom also expressed gratitude for the strong support shown by NATO member states towards Sweden's NATO aspirations.

Sweden recently enacted a new anti-terrorism law, which came into force on Thursday, after being ratified by the Swedish parliament last month. The passage of this law addresses one of Türkiye's key demands for ratifying Sweden's NATO membership.

Following the outbreak of the Ukraine war in February 2022, both Finland and Sweden submitted their applications for NATO membership. In June of the same year, a trilateral memorandum was signed in Madrid between Türkiye, Finland, and Sweden, aiming to address Ankara's security concerns. Since then, senior diplomats and officials from the three countries have engaged in various meetings to discuss the implementation of the trilateral agreement.

While Türkiye has approved Finland's NATO membership, it is now waiting for Sweden to fulfill its obligations under the trilateral memorandum, signed last June, to address Ankara's security concerns.

As Sweden participates in the NATO Foreign Ministers' informal meeting in Oslo as an invitee, the issue of its membership remains a topic of discussion. Türkiye's call for Sweden to take concrete steps in the fight against terrorism reflects the importance placed on fulfilling commitments before NATO ratification can proceed. (ILKHA)