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NATO

Turkish president vows to block ‘terror haven’ Sweden from Nato

Turkey is 'determined' to block Sweden's and Finland's bids to join Nato, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday, calling Stockholm in particular a "complete terror haven."

Turkish president vows to block 'terror haven' Sweden from Nato
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he delivers a speech during his party's group meeting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Photo: Adem Altan/AFP

Abandoning their long established non-alignment policy after Russia invaded Ukraine, Finland and Sweden on Wednesday submitted a joint application for Nato membership.

But Erdogan is threatening to block the bid, singling out Sweden as “a complete terror focus, a complete terror haven,” in a video broadcast he tweeted on Thursday.

“We will continue this policy in a determined fashion and we told relevant parties that we will say ‘no’ to Finland and Sweden joining Nato,” the Turkish leader said in one excerpt of the video from his chat with young people.

The United States is “confident” that Turkey’s concerns over accession to Nato by Finland and Sweden can be overcome, a top advisor to President Joe Biden said Wednesday.

“We’re confident that at the end of the day Finland and Sweden” will enter Nato and “that Turkey’s concerns can be addressed,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.

Speaking after Erdogan released his video, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that “concerns” raised by Turkey over the Sweden and Finland’s applications to the military alliance were being addressed.

“Of course, we are addressing the concerns that Turkey has expressed,” to find “an agreement on how to move forward,” Stoltenberg told a Copenhagen conference, after Turkey opposed the applications of the two Nordic countries over what it considers leniency toward Kurdish militant groups.

Member comments

  1. The Local does not know which way the wind is blowing , so one article makes a defeat look a victory , and another makes a defeat look and sound like a defeat .

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NATO

IN PICTURES: ‘New era’ as Nato flag hoisted outside Swedish parliament

'Sweden wants peace,' said King Carl XVI Gustaf as he spoke at a flag-hoisting ceremony outside the Swedish parliament to mark his country's Nato membership.

IN PICTURES: 'New era' as Nato flag hoisted outside Swedish parliament

“A new piece of Swedish history is being written,” said the King in his speech on Monday.

“We have left behind the military freedom of alliance founded under Karl XIV Johan,” he added. “A new era of security policy has begun.”

Sweden applied to join Nato following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, King Carl XVI Gustaf, parliamentary speaker Andreas Norlén, Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Micael Bydén, among others. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT

The King said that Sweden’s membership would contribute to regional stability, but wasn’t targeted at anyone.

“Sweden wants peace. Thus wrote my grandfather, Gustav VI Adolf, and Prime Minister Tage Erlander to Swedish citizens in the 1960s. That’s still the case today. Sweden threatens no one. Sweden wants peace,” he said.

The Nato flag flying next to the Swedish flag and the EU flag outside parliament. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, speaker of parliament Andreas Norlén and military supreme commander Micael Bydén also attended the ceremony on Monday, alongside members of parliament, government ministers and several party leaders.

US ambassador Erik D Ramanathan and Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, director-general of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT

Across the water, outside the Royal Palace, a group of around 20 people held up banners and loudly chanted “no to Nato”.

Demonstrators holding signs reading Free Palestine; Sweden doesn’t need Nato for peace – Nato needs Sweden for war; No to Nato; No to war crimes club Nato. Photo: Samuel Steén/TT

The war in Ukraine and Sweden’s Nato application has not only boosted support for Nato, but also for peace movements.

The Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society (Svenska freds) has more than doubled its membership in two years, from just over 6,000 in February 2022 to 15,000 at the start of March 2024, reported regional public radio broadcaster P4 Jönköping earlier on Monday.

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The Swedish branch of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (Internationella kvinnoförbundet för fred och frihet) has grown by 35 percent since January 2022, and the Christian Peace Movement (Kristna fredsrörelsen) grew by 12 percent in 2023.

According to Kerstin Bergeå, chair of Svenska freds, which is against Nato membership, a total of 200 new members signed up on the same day that Hungary ratified Sweden’s application.

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