Swedish, Finnish NATO bids face test as officials meet Turkey’s representatives
Lack of movement on extradition of “terrorist” suspects still poses threat to Nordic states joining alliance.
ISTANBUL — Officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland meet on Aug. 26 to review the June deal on the Nordic countries’ NATO membership bids amid Turkish doubts they are living up to their promises.
Stockholm and Helsinki dropped their long-standing policies of military non-alignment in the wake of Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, announcing their intent to join the Atlantic defense pact.
The move was widely welcomed by the alliance’s 30 members, but Turkey insisted it would not approve the move, which must be accepted by every member state, unless the two countries tightened their approach to terrorism.
Ankara was particularly concerned about the activities of supporters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is considered a terror group by the United States and the European Union, as well as those associated with a 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.
