Sweden can't meet Turkey's demands for Nato backing, says PM

Sweden and Finland are keen for Ankara to back their bids to join Nato

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Reuters

Sweden cannot accept some of the demands Turkey requires for it to lift its block on backing the country's accession to Nato, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Sunday.

"Turkey has confirmed that we have done what we said we would do, but it also says that it wants things that we can't, that we don't want to give it," Mr Kristersson said during a security conference also attended by Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

"We are convinced that Turkey will make a decision, we just don't know when."

Mr Kristersson said it would depend on Turkey's internal politics and "Sweden's capacity to show its seriousness".

Sweden and Finland broke with decades of military non-alignment and applied to join the US-led defence alliance in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

But Turkey has refused to approve their bid until the two countries take steps, including joining its fight against banned Kurdish militants.

Most of Turkey's demands have involved Sweden because of its stronger ties with the Kurdish diaspora.

A look at the Nato military alliance - in pictures

A solemn welcoming ceremony of US soldiers at Adazi military base, Latvia, on February 25, 2022. More than 300 soldiers of the 173rd Air Force Brigade arrived to demonstrate the US commitment to defend Nato allies and strengthen Latvia's defence capabilities following Russia's military operation in Ukraine. EPA

US paratroopers in Ukraine's western Lviv region during a Nato-sponsored training exercise in 2020. AP

A US military aircraft takes off at the US Air Base Ramstein, in Landstuhl, Germany, on February 25. US President Joe Biden February 24 authorised the deployment of further armed forces to Germany as part of Nato's response to Russia's military aggression on Ukraine. EPA

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on February 25. EPA

A convoy of British armoured vehicles of the Royal Welsh Battlegroup on the way to Estonia, driving through Liepupe, Latvia, on February 25. British troops and equipment are heading to Estonia as part of the UK's contribution to strengthen Nato's uplift to Eastern Europe. EPA

Protesters outside a Nato leaders virtual summit in Brussels on February 25. AP

A US Air Force F-35 Lightning II aircraft assigned to the 34th Fighter Squadron receives fuel from a KC-10 Extender aircraft over Poland on February 24. US Air Force/Reuters

US military personnel check an Apache attack helicopter AH-64 during a technical stop on the tarmac at Traian Vuia International Airport in Timisoara, Romania, on February 24. EPA

German soldiers of the Nato enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania attend a ceremony during a visit of German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht to Rukla Military Base, Lithuania, on February 22. EPA

Finland's Foreign Minister, Pekka Haavisto, said that the country would join Nato at the same time as its neighbour.

"Finland is not in such a rush to join Nato that we can't wait until Sweden gets the green light,", Mr Haavisto said after Sunday's conference.

Mr Stoltenberg said he expected both countries would be able to join the military alliance as early as this year, while admitting the decision depends on the Turkish and Hungarian parliaments.

Among the 30 Nato members, only Hungary and Turkey are yet to approve the two Nordic applications.

Putin sends ‘we will respond in kind’ warning to prospective Nato members Finland and Sweden - video

But Hungarians Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said Parliament will soon approve both Finland and Sweden's accession bids, leaving Turkey the only holdout.

Mr Stotenberg said that he expected the two countries to join Nato this year.

"But I will not guarantee the exact date, because it is of course a sovereign decision of the Turkish and Hungarian parliaments, [which] have not yet ratified the agreement," he told AFP.

Finland and Sweden "are clearly committed to long-term co-operation with Turkey," and "the time has come to finalise the accession process and to ratify the accession protocol", Mr Stoltenberg said..

In late December, Turkey praised Sweden for responding to its security concerns but stressed more was needed to win Ankara's full backing for Stockholm's stalled Nato membership bid.