ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey’s foreign minister said on Thursday that Sweden and Finland have not yet fulfilled all obligations under a deal clearing their bids to join NATO, and they must still take concrete steps.
Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Istanbul, also said Turkey observed that Sweden’s new government under Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is taking a decisive approach to fulfilling obligations.
Sweden and Finland signed a memorandum in June, resulting in NATO member Turkey lifting a veto of their applications to join the trans-Atlantic security alliance. The two asked to join in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, but Turkey sought extra guarantees, including that they not shelter Kurdish militants.
(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; Writing by Jonathan Spicer)
