Turkey Says Sweden Could Be A NATO Member If It Fulfills Commitment

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg shows membership applications for Sweden and Finland. (Source: NATO)

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler said on Saturday that Sweden could become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) like Finland if the country fulfills its commitment to fighting terrorists.

Guler showed his support for the military alliance's "open door" policy when meeting reporters in Brussels after a meeting of NATO defense ministers.

After the Russian war in Ukraine, Sweden tried to join NATO. However, Turkey, which has been a member for 70 years, rejected the Nordic country's request for concern, especially over the presence of the PKK terrorist organization in Sweden.

Earlier, this year Turkey had ratified Finland's request to join NATO, but suspended Sweden's petition.

When asked to evaluate participation in defense ministerial meetings for the first time, Guler said that preparations for the next NATO conference would be discussed during the meeting.

NATO leaders will meet in Lithuanian capital Vilnius on July 11-12 and allies are expected to support Ukraine in the long term to strengthen deterrence and defense.

"Once again, we show ourmi support for Ukraine's territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty, including Crimea," Guler said, citing Antara, Sunday.

"We also emphasize the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the formation of a ceasefire to prevent further destruction and humanitarian tragedy," Guter continued.

Guler also said that NATO emphasizes the importance of diplomacy and is ready to play a role in this and in humanitarian aid, as it has been done so far.

Guler said that within the framework of the Black Sea Grain initiative, brokered by Turkey to address the global food crisis, about 32 million tons of grains were sent from the Ukrainian port to the global market by thousands of ships.

He stressed the importance of fast, safe, and planned delivery of grains.

Guler also highlighted the meeting of the two meetings at NATO headquarters and discussed efforts to strengthen the alliance's precautionary and defense stance on the current security environment.

He said: "In this context, we recall that after the incident in Kosovo, our country, which has historical and cultural relations with the Balkan countries, immediately deployed additional reserve battalions to contribute to peace, peace and stability in the region. We detail our contributions to the structure of NATO command and power, operations and missions, as well as efforts on land, sea, air and space."

We expect full support from our allies

Guler also noted that they conveyed Turkey's views on the main agenda directly during the meeting.

He said: "We show our sensitivity in fighting terrorism, as we do in every environment. We underline that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations must be eradicated without discrimination."

We emphasize our determination to eradicate all terrorist organizations, including PKK/YPG/PYD, FETO, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and others. We expect full support from our allies on this matter.

A trilateral memorandum at a NATO summit signed by several countries in June last year determined that Finland and Sweden would not provide support to the YPG/PYD, the PKK branch of Syria, or to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) - the group behind the 2016 failed coup in Turkey.