Turkey felt that Sweden and Finland had made "
progress
" with a view to the Nordic countries joining NATO, according to a joint statement after a meeting on Friday (November 25th) in Stockholm.
In a press release, the three countries “
welcomed the intensification of cooperation (…) and the progress made by Finland and Sweden in respecting the memorandum
” signed on the sidelines of the Madrid summit in June.
"
Sweden has largely respected the trilateral memorandum and is moving towards NATO
", noted on Twitter the Swedish head of negotiations for membership, Oscar Stenström, after the meeting announced at the beginning of the month by the Turkish president. Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Read alsoFrançois d'Orcival: "Poland, central part of the new NATO system"
PKK-related charges
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden submitted a joint bid to join the Atlantic Alliance in May, abandoning decades of military non-alignment.
This, which must be accepted unanimously by the 30 member states of NATO, has been ratified by all with the exception of Turkey and Hungary.
Ankara notably accused the two countries, first and foremost Sweden, of serving as a refuge for militants close to the PKK but also to the People's Protection Units (YPG) active in Syria, which Turkey both considers to be terrorists.
On a visit to Ankara in early November, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson had promised to respond to the concerns expressed by Turkey in its fight against terrorism.
In mid-November, the Swedish Parliament passed a change to the Constitution allowing Sweden to toughen up its fight against terrorism, which will come into force in January.