Deal on NATO accession to be fulfilled, top Swedish diplomat says

By Atila Altuntas

STOCKHOLM (AA) - The tripartite memorandum between Finland, Sweden and Türkiye for NATO membership of the Nordic nations will be fulfilled, the Swedish foreign minister reiterated on Monday.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Tobias Billstrom condemned Sunday's terror attack on Istanbul's Istiklal Avenue that left six people dead and 81 others injured. The Turkish government has confirmed it was carried out by the PKK/YPG terror group.

He said the attack would not affect ongoing dialogue between Sweden and Türkiye, adding that Türkiye's security concerns will be addressed.

Abandoning decades of military non-alignment, Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO in May, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine.

But Türkiye voiced objections to their membership bids, accusing the two countries of tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.

Stockholm and Helsinki struck a deal with Ankara in June, which requires them not to provide support to the PKK and its offshoots, or to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Türkiye. Ankara has also called for extradition of terror suspects.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is its Syrian offshoot.

Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have warned that Türkiye will not give the nod to their memberships until the memorandum is implemented.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Türkiye in recent days to discuss the membership bids.

In order for a country to join NATO, unanimous consent is required, which equals the approval of all 30 existing allied countries.