Swedish FM requests Turkish parliament to approve NATO bid

The foreign minister of Sweden, Tobias Billstrom, has expressed confidence that his nation had taken all necessary steps to win Turkey’s support for joining NATO.

Billstrom stated on Wednesday that Sweden had met its commitments under the NATO membership agreement it had with Turkey. The Turkish Parliament must now begin the approval procedure so that Sweden may join the alliance.

Turkey and Hungary have long refused to approve Sweden’s membership in the alliance, alleging insufficient counterterrorism efforts, particularly against the PKK.

Türkiye has demanded the extradition of numerous individuals, alleging that Sweden provides a refuge for “terrorists,” particularly PKK militants. A suspect in his 40s, was detained in January after he fired a gun outside a Stockholm restaurant and made threats.

According to prosecutors, the man aimed to extort money and use it to finance PKK. The prosecutor argued that the man played a key role in PKK activities in Sweden. According to the charge sheet, which also references evidence from French and German intelligence, the man had been in contact with people directly involved in funding the PKK and had acted on the group’s behalf.

Sweden toughened its anti-terrorism legislation in July of last year, making it simpler to pursue terrorist financing activities. This is the first time the new law, which has already been employed in cases involving Daesh, has been used against an accused PKK follower.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Sweden and neighboring Finland announced bids to join NATO in May last year, ending two centuries of neutrality and military non-alignment.