NATO talks with Türkiye to resume in March, says Sweden's PM

PM Kristersson met President Erdoğan in Ankara on November 8. (Photo: AA)

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Sweden's negotiations with Türkiye about its NATO membership bid will resume in mid-March, the country's prime minister said on Wednesday (February 22).

"There is also a date, it's not a secret, but we are waiting for confirmation," Ulf Kristersson told his country's public broadcaster SVT.

The negotiations had stalled after a far-right politician, Rasmus Paludan, burned the Quran, the holy book of Islam, outside of Türkiye's embassy in Stockholm.

Türkiye's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Monday that the talks would resume as "Sweden gave some positive messages." Kristersson later welcomed Çavuşoğlu's statement.

Sweden and Finland's NATO accession

Sweden and Finland last year applied to join NATO, in a decision triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Türkiye, however, objected to their membership, citing their inaction against "terror groups," namely the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the "Fetullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ)," an Islamic group held responsible for the 2016 coup attempt.

The three countries signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding on June 28 at the NATO summit in Madrid, which stipulates that Finland and Sweden will not provide support to the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the People's Defense Units (YPG), which Türkiye sees as the PKK's extensions in Syria.

The Nordic countries also agreed to address Ankara's pending deportation or extradition requests regarding "terror" suspects.
Türkiye's parliament must ratify the country's approval for Finland and Sweden's membership for them to join NATO.

In September, Sweden lifted restrictions on arms sales to Türkiye, which was among Ankara's demands in order to approve its NATO bid. (AEK/VK)