STOCKHOLM (Realist English). Sweden believes that Turkey demands the impossible in exchange for the permission to join NATO — for Stockholm to overturn the decision of the Supreme Court.
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that, in his opinion, Stockholm has done enough for Ankara.
“Turkey confirms that we have done what we promised. But they also say they need things that we can’t and won’t give them,” Kristersson said at the Forsvar security conference.
Sweden, which is home to a sizable Kurdish diaspora of about 100,000 people, “pledged to prevent the activities of the PKK” on its territory. A similar demand of Ankara was satisfied by Finland.
Then Stockholm lifted the embargo on the sale of weapons to Turkey and distanced itself from the Kurdish People’s Self—Defense Units – the Syrian militia, which played a leading role in the fight against the Islamic State group * (an organization banned in the Russian Federation).
The leader of the Turkish fascist regime, Recep Erdoğan, also demands the extradition of the former editor-in-chief of Today’s Zaman newspaper Bülent Keneş, whom Ankara accuses of an attempted coup.
In December 2022, the Swedish Supreme Court rejected Turkey’s extradition request on the grounds that Keneş would face prosecution for his political views if extradited.
Turkey’s intransigence on this issue will only strengthen Sweden’s resolve, says Toni Alaranta, senior researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Relations.
“Both Sweden and Finland are applying for NATO membership to protect our [political order based on] the rule of law during a possible attack from outside, and not to throw it in the trash,” Alaranta explained.
It is assumed that Turkey’s position will soon become the only obstacle to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, since 28 of the 30 members of the Western alliance have confirmed their requests, and the Hungarian parliament is due to give its approval at the end of January.
