Turkey unlikely to sign off on Swedish Nato bid before year-end

ANKARA – Turkey is unlikely to sign off on Sweden’s bid for Nato membership before the end of the year, and the chances of this happening even before it holds elections, due next year, are slim, according to officials familiar with the issue.

Sweden has not done enough to meet Turkish demands

and the Turkish Parliament’s agenda is full for the rest of the year, said the officials who asked not to be named on a confidential matter.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is keen to consolidate the votes of nationalists in the run-up to elections, which are currently scheduled for June, they said. The vote may be held earlier.

With Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg due to arrive in Turkey on Thursday for meetings, Ankara is keen to see solid steps, especially from Sweden, according to the officials.

Turkey is happy with the cooperation from Finland, which has also applied to join the alliance, they said.

The Turkish government does not plan to seek Parliament’s ratification of Sweden’s membership unless it meets existing demands to crack down on Kurdish separatists, extradite suspects and fully lift restrictions on arms sales to Ankara, said the officials.

Finland’s application would be voted on alongside Sweden’s, they said.

Mr Stoltenberg said last week that he would visit Turkey to ensure that all 30 allies ratify Finland and Sweden’s accessions as soon as possible.

Mr Stoltenberg will meet Mr Erdogan, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, along with other senior officials during his visit, which lasts until Saturday.

Turkey and Hungary are the only two Nato allies that have not yet signed off on membership for the two Nordic countries, which applied after Russia invaded Ukraine.

All Nato members need to sign off before the two can join. While Hungary has moved slowly relative to other members, it may vote on Nato enlargement by the end of the year.

“Of course, we will support it the moment when it comes before Parliament. We hope this will happen as soon as possible,” Hungarian Deputy Defence Minister Tamas Vargha told Telex news website in a report published on Thursday. He was referring to legislation to ratify Finland and Sweden’s accession to Nato, which the government submitted in July.

Hungary’s government has dragged its feet on the bids. Prime Minister Viktor Orban wields a super majority in Parliament.

Sweden’s new Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will visit Turkey next week.

Mr Kristersson has repeatedly said that his country will honour the agreement with Turkey, and cooperate on fighting terrorism.

Mr Stoltenberg’s talks come as Turkey has negotiated with Russia to enable grain to continue flowing from Ukraine’s ports. Moscow suspended its participation in the Black Sea grain-export deal over the weekend, only to return to it after it said it received written guarantees from Ukraine. 

Turkey has cautioned its Nato allies on supplying arms to Ukraine, fearing that retaliatory attacks by Russia could further deepen the war, and is expected to relay its concerns once again to Mr Stoltenberg. BLOOMBERG