Erdogan adviser says it is too late to ratify Sweden or Finland in NATO

ANKARA (Reuters – Turkey has less time to ratify the NATO membership bids of Sweden and Finland, according to a Turkish presidential spokesperson on Saturday.

Ibrahim Kalin (the spokesperson for President Tayyip Turkey) said that Turkish ratification of the bids of the countries depended on how fast Stockholm fulfilled counter-terrorism pledges made under a deal with Ankara. Kalin warned that this could take several months.

Kalin said that although Stockholm is fully committed in implementing the Madrid Agreement last year, it would take six more months for the country to draft new laws to allow the judicial system implement the new definitions.

Sweden, along with Finland, signed an agreement to Turkey last year. This was in response to Ankara’s objections about their NATO bids. They were submitted in May 2012 and required the approval of all thirty NATO member states. After Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, both countries applied for NATO membership.

Ankara said that Sweden should take a firmer stand against terrorists, particularly Kurdish militants and an organisation it blames in a coup attempt in 2016.

The Turkish parliament will have to ratify Ankara’s decision about the Nordic member countries. There is a possibility of a vote on both.

Kalin stated that the Swedish government should send a clear message that Sweden is no longer considered a safe place for terrorist organizations and that they won’t be able collect money or recruit members to engage in other activities.

Kalin stated, “We have a time problem if they want NATO to join before the NATO summit is in June.” Kalin was referring to the Turkish presidential election and the parliamentary elections expected in May.

“Given that parliament will go into recess sometime before the election, you’re looking to 2-2.5 months timeframe to complete all this,” he stated.

(Reporting and Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Helen Popper; Writing by EceToksabay.