Finland and Sweden want to join NATO – but Turkey is blocking it. Swedish Foreign Minister Linde is now emphasizing that Stockholm will show solidarity with Ankara.
In the event of admission to NATO, Sweden also wants to support Turkey’s security.
“Sweden will contribute to the security of NATO as a whole, including that of Turkey,” said Foreign Minister Ann Linde on Friday in a foreign policy government statement in Parliament in Stockholm. The Swedish goal is to move forward in a constructive spirit on the issues raised by Turkey. Sweden strongly condemns terrorism, Linde said.
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in mid-May. Turkey is currently the only NATO member to publicly block the beginning of the process of admitting the two Nordic countries into the defense alliance, and negotiations with Ankara have so far not changed anything. Turkey justifies its stance with the alleged support of Finland and Sweden for “terrorist organizations” such as the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK.
