Sweden claims to have met all of Turkey's requirements for NATO membership
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said yesterday that his country met all Turkey's requirements for NATO membership, Reuters reports, according to Digi24.
In a joint press conference with his British counterpart, James Cleverly, Billstrom said Sweden had implemented a new anti-terrorism law, as it had committed to in a bilateral agreement with Turkey and Finland.
Sweden and Finland applied to become members of the North Atlantic Alliance last year after Russia invaded Ukraine.
The unanimity required for NATO expansion was not immediately met, however, due to the opposition of Turkey and Hungary. Ankara has accused the two northern states of not being firm enough in fighting terrorism, particularly supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), but has since dropped its objections to Finland's accession, which Budapest has also ratified.
The Hungarian parliament has not yet voted for Sweden's NATO membership. Billstrom said that new legislation has recently come into force in Sweden that prohibits participation in any way in a terrorist organization - as the PKK is officially considered by Turkey, the US and the European Union.
"So we fulfilled the last part of the agreement," he declared. Visiting Sweden, Cleverly reiterated in the same press conference the support of the United Kingdom for the swift conclusion of the process of Sweden's accession to NATO.
