Turkey is blocking Sweden's NATO membership - most recently with reference to the burning of the Koran.
Jens Stoltenberg has expressed a clear opinion on this.
Stockholm/Munich - Recep Tayyip Erdogan is still preventing Sweden from joining NATO - Turkey recently used the burning of the Koran as an opportunity for a veto.
According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Erdogan has suffered a significant setback on this issue.
The alliance leader's reasoning: Not every unpopular action can be banned in NATO partner countries - at the same time, this question was not part of the Madrid agreement.
Sweden has already "delivered".
New talks between Sweden, Finland and Turkey will begin on Thursday (March 9).
Erdogan blocks Sweden's NATO accession: Stoltenberg warns - "You can't ban everything"
"I conveyed to Turkey that people can have different views on the burning of the Koran," Stoltenberg told Swedish broadcaster SVT on Wednesday (March 8) on the fringes of a defense ministers' meeting. "Many countries have laws that prohibit this type of action , but you can't ban everything you don't like."
The Norwegian Stoltenberg did not want to suggest a change in the law in this regard to the Swedish government when asked.
There is much that can be "provocative and disrespectful" but still conforms to the law.
"The point is that this issue was not part of the agreement and should not prevent Sweden from becoming a member of NATO."
Turkey in a clinch with Sweden: Nato boss warns Erdogan
Stoltenberg also issued a warning to Ankara with regard to the dispute over the burning of the Koran.
It is important not to reopen the negotiations that were concluded in Madrid a year ago.
"We agree on that," emphasized the NATO Secretary General on the SVT program "30 Minutes".
NATO enlargement: The growing defense alliance
NATO enlargement: The growing defense alliance
According to Stoltenberg, when Sweden and Finland join NATO again, it will be about conveying to Turkey that both countries have fulfilled the requirements of the memorandum made in 2022.
The NATO chief has repeatedly emphasized that he is working hard to ensure that both countries are admitted to the alliance - but at the Munich Security Conference he and Finland's President Sauli Niinistö could not rule out Finland joining alone.
"Sweden will become a member of NATO," declared Stoltenberg on Tuesday in Stockholm.
"The question isn't if, the question is when," he said.
Apparently, Sweden did not expect a quick breakthrough in the talks.
The expectations are no higher than "that it is good that the talks are starting again," said Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson with caution.
In Sweden, there had recently been dissatisfaction with Kristersson's emphatically diplomatic dealings with Turkey.
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