The NATO boss is getting impatient. Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday called on Turkey to lift its objections against Sweden for "fulfilling its obligations" and to finalise its membership of the Alliance "as soon as possible".
Turkey has been blocking Sweden's entry into the Atlantic Alliance for thirteen months, reproaching it for its indulgence towards the Kurdish militants it hosts on its soil. But for the NATO chief, "it is time" for this membership to be confirmed before the Alliance's summit in Vilnius on 11 and 12 July.
To move things forward, he announced the creation of a "permanent mechanism" between NATO and Turkey with a next meeting in the week of June 12. "Sweden's accession to NATO will strengthen its security but it will also make Turkey stronger," he insisted, adding that he "intends to finalize Sweden's accession as soon as possible."
An anti-NATO demonstration in Stockholm
At the same time, an anti-Erdogan demonstration and against this membership was authorized Sunday in Stockholm, at the initiative of an "Alliance against NATO", which includes the Rojava Committee, a support group for Kurdish armed groups in Syria.
đź“ŚStockholm'de 'ErdoÄźan' protestosu
◾️İsveçliler ve Kürtler PKK bayrakları ile NATO üyeliği ve Erdoğan yasalarını protesto etmek için Stockhlom'ün ana caddelerinde yürüdü. Göstericiler, "NATO'ya Hayır" , "Erdoğan'a Hayır" dedi.https://t.co/062Nsh7r75 pic.twitter.com/RGiiTqitmp
— Yeni Özgür Politika (@y_ozgurpolitika) June 4, 2023
For Jens Stoltenberg, "freedom of assembly is at the heart of the democratic values of our societies", but "the demonstrators want to prevent Sweden from joining NATO: we must not let them win", he said. He was invited Saturday in Ankara to the inauguration ceremony of President Erdogan, re-elected on May 28.
Turkey remains the only one of the 31 NATO member states with Hungary that has not yet ratified this enlargement after the green light given to Finland. Yet Stockholm has bowed to a key demand from Ankara: The Swedish parliament has passed a new law banning activities linked to extremist groups, strengthening its terrorism legislation, which came into force last week.
The head of Swedish diplomacy remarked on this occasion that his country met "all the conditions" to lift without delay the latest opposition. "The time has come for Turkey and Hungary to start ratifying Sweden's NATO membership," Billström said.