Erdogan makes it clear: Sweden will probably not join NATO until October at the earliest

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After Turkey’s general approval of Sweden’s NATO membership, the country will probably have to wait a few more months. When asked by a journalist when parliament would ratify the accession protocols, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 69, said Wednesday after the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania: “It could be October.” The Grand National Assembly is expected to enter its summer break soon and will not meet again until October.

At a press conference, Erdogan claimed he wanted to complete the accession process “as soon as possible”, without specifying a timetable. He believes Sweden will soon take “concrete steps” to address Turkey’s concerns, Erdogan added.

Zoff on “terrorist organizations”

In view of the Russian offensive war against Ukraine, Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022. Finland was welcomed as the 31st member of the alliance in early April, while Sweden had not yet received approval from Turkey and Hungary.

On Monday, Erdogan gave up his blocking stance after talks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (59). Kristersson agreed with a statement in which Sweden promised to come up with an anti-terrorism plan. This was the country’s response to Turkey’s accusation that it was not taking sufficient action against “terrorist organizations” such as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – in addition to steps already taken. (SDA)

Source: Blick