STOCKHOLM, May 25 (Xinhua) – Sweden continues its dialogue with Turkey to secure Ankara’s support for Stockholm’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson here on Wednesday.
“Sweden’s dialogue with Turkey is ongoing, and I look forward to strengthening Swedish-Turkish bilateral relations, including peace, security and the fight against terrorism,” Andersson said at a news conference with Charles Michel, President-in-Office of the European Council.
Sweden and Finland also submitted their official application letters to join NATO on 18 May. Turkey has been the only NATO member to protest these tenders, citing the two countries ‘support for the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the Syrian branch of the PKK.
On Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu demanded a “written agreement” from Finland and Sweden on measures to end their “support for terrorism” if they want to join NATO.
Michel, in turn, said the European Union (EU) was looking forward to a “positive solution to discussions between NATO allies.” He reiterated the EU’s support for Sweden’s and Finland’s bid for NATO membership.
Source: sn.dk