Türkiye: Sweden must fulfil commitments against terrorism for NATO bid

Türkiye has called on Sweden to fulfil its commitments regarding the fight against terrorism in order to start the ratification of the Nordic country's accession to NATO.

"A crystal clear message to our Swedish Friends! Fulfil your commitments arising from Trilateral Memorandum & take concrete steps in the fight against terrorism. The rest will follow," Türkiye's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter on Thursday.

Earlier, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom, during his doorstep remarks at NATO foreign ministers meeting in Oslo, said Sweden had fulfilled "all the commitments" to become a NATO member, calling on Türkiye and Hungary to ratify its bid.

“Meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers in Oslo today showed strong support from Member States towards Sweden's membership in NATO,” Billstrom said on Twitter.

His remarks came after a new anti-terrorism law, which was ratified by the Swedish parliament last month, went into force. The law was one of Türkiye's main demands to ratify the Nordic country's NATO membership.

NATO seeks to deal with the issue by the time US President Joe Biden and his counterparts meet next month.

Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership soon after the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022.

Although Türkiye approved Finland's membership to NATO, it is waiting for Sweden to abide by a trilateral memorandum signed last June in Madrid to address Ankara’s security concerns.

Sweden is joining the informal meeting in Oslo as a NATO invitee.