Talks between Sweden and Turkey are progressing well and Stockholm hopes Ankara will ratify the Nordic country's NATO application well before an alliance summit in July, Sweden's foreign minister said on Thursday.
Sweden and Finland applied in May to join NATO in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but ran into objections from Turkey which accused the Nordic countries of harbouring militants, including from the banned Kurdistan Workers Party .
Billstrom said Sweden had already made good progress and said tougher anti-terrorism laws that will come into force on Jan. 1 in Sweden had been welcomed by Ankara. The NATO application has so far been ratified by 28 of the 30 member countries. Hungary has said its parliament will approve the application in early 2023. Ankara says a decision could come after elections due in June.
One sticking point has been extraditions of persons Turkey regards as terrorists and Cavusoglu lamented a decision earlier this week, whena request from Ankara to extradite a journalist with alleged links to Islamic scholar Fetullah Gulen, blamed by Turkey for an attempted coup.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Turkey calls for more action from Sweden on extradition for NATO backingTurkey's foreign minister said on Thursday that Sweden has not yet acted to extradite or freeze the assets of people that his country believes are linked to terrorism, even as Stockholm tries to convince Ankara to approve its bid to join NATO.
Read more »
Sweden faces recession lasting into 2024, finance minister saysThe Swedish economy will enter a deeper, more long-lasting recession next year than previously forecast as soaring energy prices drive up inflation, hitting households and businesses, the country's finance ministry said on Thursday.
Read more »
No 'concrete' measures by Sweden to address security concerns: TürkiyeTurkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says that Sweden remains the 'centre of attraction' for Fetullah Terrorist Organisation and Stockholm is yet to take steps on the extradition of terrorist-related criminals and freezing terrorist assets.
Read more »
NATO 'will collapse from the inside,' Russian lawmaker predictsLeonid Slutsky, the hawkish leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, said there is 'every chance' NATO would fail without pressure from Moscow or Beijing.
Read more »
Turkey signals potential rapprochement with Syria's AssadTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, were at one point close allies, but the two leaders have not been in contact since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.
Read more »