'Sweden must take concrete steps to get into NATO'
Rahshan Saglam
Press TV, Istanbul
A day after Finland formally joined NATO, Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Sweden needs to take further steps for Turkey to ratify its NATO membership bid. Turkey accuses Sweden of hosting members of the terrorist group, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an allegation that Sweden denies.
Turkey’s demand to extradite them was also denied by Sweden which further intensified the dispute between the two countries. Sweden also allowed several protests to be held in front of the Turkish embassy where a copy of the Holy Quran was burned by right extremists. Turkey strongly condemned the heinous incident and called it a “vile act” and a hate crime.
This is while analysts say the Turkish parliament is expected to give the green light to Sweden’s accession to the military bloc sooner or later and see it coming most likely after the May 14 election.
On Tuesday, Finland formally joined NATO after receiving Ankara's consent. Helsinki and Stockholm applied to join the military alliance last year, after the eruption of the Russia-Ukraine war. The West, especially the US, is now urging the Turkish government and Hungary to ratify the accession protocols for Sweden to join the Military Bloc, in order to strengthen the alliance in the Baltic.
It now seems the Turkish government is looking for improving its stance and image in the eyes of the West; and with the May 14 election nearing, it’s believed that Ankara is also using the NATO issue to divert public attention away from the economic crisis and high cost of living gripping the country.
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