ANKARA, Turkey (AP) 鈥� Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he has agreed to meet with Sweden鈥檚 new prime minister in Ankara to discuss the Scandinavian country鈥檚 bid to join NATO, describing the visit as an opportunity to test Stockholm鈥檚 鈥渟incerity鈥� in meeting Turkey鈥檚 conditions.
In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sweden abandoned a longstanding policy of military nonalignment and applied for NATO membership this year together with neighboring Finland. Turkey, already a member of the military alliance, threatened to block the process.
Erdogan's government placed a series of demands on Stockholm, in particular to crack down on Kurdish groups that Ankara accuses of terrorism and considers to be national security threats.
Erdogan told a group of reporters Thursday upon his return from a trip to Azerbaijan that Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson had made comments 鈥渋n favor of the fight against terrorism and terrorists.鈥� The Turkish leader said he accepted Kristersson's request to visit the Turkish capital.
鈥淥f course, we will test their sincerity on this issue during this visit,鈥� Erdogan said in comments quoted by Turkish media on Friday.
NATO operates by consensus, so Sweden and Finland need Turkey鈥檚 approval to join. The parliaments of Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify their accession.
鈥淥ur stance has not changed,鈥� Erdogan said. 鈥淭here is no compromise in the fight against terrorism and we have no intention of making any concessions.鈥�
Meanwhile, Sweden鈥檚 new foreign minister, Tobias Billstrom, said the government 鈥渁ttaches the highest priority to our NATO accession.鈥� He described a possible meeting between Kristersson and Erdogan as positive news.
鈥淲e believe that close dialogue and close consultations with all the three parties of this trial memorandum is the way forward,鈥� said Billstrom said, who met his Finnish counterpart, Pekka Haavisto, in Helsinki on Friday.
Last month, Sweden announced it would lift an arms embargo it imposed on Turkey in 2019 following a Turkish military operation against the Kurdish militia YPG in Syria. The move was widely seen as a step aimed at securing Ankara鈥檚 approval for Sweden's NATO membership.
鈥淲e believe that everything will lead to what we expect: namely, the ratification of and by the Turkish parliament,鈥� Billstrom said.
The Associated Press
