By Janet Ekstract
ISTANBUL-On Thursday, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom expressed doubts about when Sweden could join NATO, referring to new objections from Hungary. The hope was that Sweden would enter NATO membership in time for the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania in July. Initially, Sweden and Finland had planned to join NATO simultaneously but the Turkish government later expressed its reservations about whether Sweden was doing enough to contain terrorism and meet obligations laid out in a tripartite agreement signed by Turkiye, Sweden and Finland last June.
Meanwhile, in an interview with TT news, Billstrom commented: “I have noted the things that have been said in recent days, especially from Hungary’s side, and that means you always have reason to alter your words.” He added: “I think ‘hopeful’ in this context is better.” Last Wednesday, a Hungarian government spokesperson said the Hungarian government was keeping Sweden’s admission on the backburner because of what it labeled as “grievances” over Sweden’s past criticism of Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his policies. The memorandum signed last summer, views both Nordic countries as future NATO allies which includes demonstrating complete solidarity and cooperation with the Turkish government to fight terrorism on all fronts. The Turkish government had indicated its approval of Finland’s steps to address terrorism but concerns still remain about Sweden’s commitments to Turkiye on that front. The delay in Sweden’s NATO membership approval is likely due to its insistence that there are some demands from the Turkish government that it can’t fulfill. On a hopeful note, earlier in April, Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin commented that his country is still leaving the door open on Sweden’s NATO membership.
