Sweden says NATO membership talks with Türkiye 'going well'

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Sweden’s prime minister on Wednesday said that talks with Türkiye over the NATO membership process are "going very well", adding his previous remarks were misunderstood.

"We have the fullest respect for the fact that Türkiye and every other of the 30 NATO countries make their own domestic decisions on whether to ratify or not," Ulf Kristersson, told reporters in the capital Stockholm.

He pointed out that there was a "misunderstanding" on his previous comment on Türkiye's demands.

On Sunday, the Swedish premier said that Stockholm cannot fulfill Ankara's all conditions for approving its application to join NATO.

However, Kristersson said today that he respected Ankara’s right to make its own decision on ratification.

"We have shown for Türkiye that we are doing exactly what we promised to do," he said, adding: "It has been a very rapid process. We feel very strong support from countries."

He also said that there are limits to what Sweden can do when it comes to extraditing individuals to Ankara, according to the Politico website.

Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO in May 2022, abandoning decades of military non-alignment, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine which started on Feb. 24.

But Türkiye – a NATO member for more than 70 years – voiced objections, accusing the two countries of tolerating and even supporting terror groups, including the PKK and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

In June, Türkiye and the two Nordic countries signed a memorandum at a NATO summit to address Ankara's legitimate security concerns, paving the way for their eventual membership in the alliance.