Sweden 'has fulfilled obligations' for membership, NATO chief tells Turkey's Erdogan

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday appealed to Turkey to give up its opposition to Sweden's bid to become a member of the US-led defence alliance, hoping that the accession of Stockholm would be finalised "as soon as possible".

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been facing pressure to give the green light to NATO membership of Sweden ahead of a summit which will be scheduled in July in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

"Membership will make Sweden safer but also make NATO and Turkey stronger," Stoltenberg said while speaking to journalists after holding talks with President Erdogan along with Turkey's newly appointed Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who was earlier heading the intelligence agency in Istanbul.

"I look forward to finalising Sweden's accession as soon as possible," he stated.

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On Saturday, Stoltenberg participated in the event held to mark Erdogan's re-election, who again came to power to serve another five years. The lavish ceremony also saw the participation of dozens of world leaders in Ankara.

Turkey, a NATO member, has protested against Sweden's admission to the military alliance. Turkey and Hungary are the only two countries of NATO which are left to ratify the membership bid.

Finland joined NATO formally in April.

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Anti-Turkey protests

Sweden was accused by Erdogan of being a haven for "terrorists" like the members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group that Turkey and its Western allies have blacklisted.

"Sweden has taken significant concrete steps to meet Turkey's concerns," Stoltenberg stated.

"This includes amending the Swedish constitution, ending the arms embargo, and stepping up counter-terrorism operations including against the PKK. Sweden has fulfilled its obligations," he added.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom also stated that Stockholm had fulfilled "all the commitments" to join NATO and appealed to Hungary and Turkey to permit his country into the alliance.

Ankara has been displeased with anti-Erdogan and anti-Turkey protests in Stockholm.

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The authorities in Sweden allowed a "No to NATO, No Erdogan Laws in Sweden" demonstration to take place in the city centre on Sunday.

"Freedom of assembly and expression are core values in democratic societies. But we should remember why these are taking place," said Stoltenberg.

"Organisers of these demonstrations want to block Sweden's accession to NATO and undermine its collaboration with Turkey against terrorism and weaken NATO. We should not allow them to succeed,” he added.

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