Breaking News Turkey with agencies
Sweden is expecting Türkiye to approve its NATO membership bid after the presidential and parliamentary elections that will be held on May 14, said the Nordic country’s Primer Minister.
Visiting his German counterpart Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Ulf Kristersson spoke of Sweden’s pending membership process.
“We think we are ready, but only Türkiye can make Türkiye’s decisions. We respect that,” said PM Kristersson.
“As Sweden, we would like to enter [NATO] together with Finland,” he said. “We are also ready for membership. However, we are waiting for approval after the elections in Türkiye.”
The Swedish Prime Minister also thanked Germany for its support in the NATO membership process.
Regarding Finland’s bid, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday, “Whatever the process is, we will run that process. We will do our duty. We will keep our promise.”
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto will pay a visit to Türkiye on March 16-17.
“I will meet Mr. President on Friday and fulfill our promise,” said Erdogan giving the green light to accept Finland into NATO without Sweden.
Türkiye says Sweden, in particular, harbors what Ankara says are militants from the banned terrorist organization PKK, which took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984.
The PKK is designated a terrorist group in Türkiye, Sweden, the United States, and Europe.