Turkiye:  Erdogan wants Swedish action on anti-terrorism for NATO bid approval

Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan, said on Tuesday that Ankara conveyed its expectation to see concrete steps from Sweden to fulfil anti-terrorism obligations under a deal, clearing bids by the Nordic country and neighbouring Finland to join NATO, Reuters reports.

In a joint news conference after a meeting in Ankara, Sweden’s Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, said he understood Turkiye’s fight against terrorism and vowed to fulfil security commitments the Nordic country made to get Ankara’s backing for its entry into NATO.

“In our meeting, we have openly shared our expectations for concrete steps regarding the implementation of the provisions in the memorandum,” Erdogan said.

Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO in May in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But Turkiye, a NATO member, raised objections, citing security concerns related to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and other groups, and over the Nordic States’ ban on arms exports.

READ: Sweden to distance itself from Kurdish militias in effort to join NATO, FM says

“I want to reassure all Turks, Sweden will live up to all the obligations made to Turkiye in countering the terrorist threat,” Kristersson said.

The three countries signed a Memorandum in June that lifted Turkiye’s veto while requiring Sweden and Finland to address its remaining concerns.

In September, following the Memorandum, Sweden and Finland reversed a ban against exporting military equipment to Turkiye, a move welcomed as a positive step by Erdogan.