NATO chief says Turkey must ratify Finland, Sweden's applications

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the “time is now” for Turkey to ratify the applications of Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. Turkey, along with Hungary, is one of the two NATO countries that have yet to ratify the Nordic nations’ applications.

During a news conference in Ankara on Thursday, Stoltenberg condemned the protests in Stockholm as a “disgraceful act” when a far-right politician burned the Koran, drawing the ire of Turkey. The NATO chief said that the Swedish government’s stance on the protests as well as its changing of its policies in line with what Turkey is demanding is enough of a reason for Ankara to ratify its bid to join the alliance.

“For me, this just demonstrates that Sweden and Finland understand and are implementing policies which recognize the concerns that Turkey expressed. And this is why I think the time has come to ratify,” said Stoltenberg.

Turkey is seen as the main holdout in Finland and Sweden’s NATO bids. The two countries jointly applied for membership last year as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ankara has accused Stockholm of harboring members of the opposition Kurdistan Worker’s Party which is deemed a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union, and others.

Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavosoglu reiterated that Ankara was considering separately evaluating Finland and Sweden’s applications. While Cavosoglu acknowledged that Sweden has changed its policies in line with Ankara’s demands, the top Turkish diplomat said the changes must be fully implemented.

On Wednesday, Swedish foreign minister Tobias Billstrom said the government is set to present its NATO accession bill to parliament in March, during his remarks on Stockholm’s foreign policy priorities for the year.

The Hungarian parliament is set to debate ratification later this month and is expected to back Finland and Sweden’s accession to the alliance. Finland’s own parliament has yet to formally approve its government’s application to join the alliance.

Progress on Finland and Sweden’s application ratification by Turkey will be unlikely as Ankara gears up for elections that will take place in May, and may be further postponed due to the devastating earthquake that hit both Turkey and Syria.