Tobias Billström: The Turkish Parliament Must Approve Sweden's NATO Membership Request

Sweden's Foreign Minister Tobias Billström stated on Wednesday, June 21, that the Turkish Parliament should begin the process of approving Sweden's request to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Billström emphasized that Stockholm has fulfilled its commitments under the agreement with Turkey. Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had said on June 14, before a meeting of Turkish, Swedish, Finnish, and NATO officials in Ankara, that 'Sweden should not expect a change in Ankara's attitude regarding NATO membership at next month's NATO summit unless it prevents anti-Turkey protests in Stockholm.' According to Reuters, he noted that as long as 'terrorists' are protesting in Stockholm, Turkey cannot respond positively to Sweden's NATO membership proposal. Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year following Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. Finland joined NATO in April, but Turkey has blocked Sweden's membership citing 'security concerns.' Turkey has repeatedly stated that Sweden must prevent protests against its government, protests that Sweden views as based on the freedoms guaranteed in its constitution. Ankara also claims that Sweden has sheltered members of militant groups opposed to Turkey. Meanwhile, Sweden's Foreign Minister pointed to a new law in Sweden that makes it more difficult to finance terrorist groups, stating that it is time for the Turkish Parliament to start the process of approving Sweden's NATO membership. Billström mentioned that Sweden hopes to join NATO before the NATO leaders' summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July. The U.S. has expressed hope for Sweden's NATO membership and implicitly supported the continuation of Stoltenberg's secretary-generalship. The U.S. Defense Secretary has called for Turkey's approval of Sweden's NATO membership. President Joe Biden announced that Sweden would 'soon' hold talks with Turkey regarding its NATO membership.