Sweden can't meet Turkey's demands for Nato backing, says PM

Sweden and Finland are keen for Ankara to back their bids to join Nato

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Reuters

Sweden cannot accept some of the demands Turkey requires for it to lift its block on backing the country's accession to Nato, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Sunday.

"Turkey has confirmed that we have done what we said we would do, but it also says that it wants things that we can't, that we don't want to give it," Mr Kristersson said during a security conference also attended by Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

"We are convinced that Turkey will make a decision, we just don't know when."

Mr Kristersson said it would depend on Turkey's internal politics and "Sweden's capacity to show its seriousness".

Sweden and Finland broke with decades of military non-alignment and applied to join the US-led defence alliance in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

But Turkey has refused to approve their bid until the two countries take steps, including joining its fight against banned Kurdish militants.

Most of Turkey's demands have involved Sweden because of its stronger ties with the Kurdish diaspora.

A look at the Nato military alliance - in pictures

Finland's Foreign Minister, Pekka Haavisto, said that the country would join Nato at the same time as its neighbour.

"Finland is not in such a rush to join Nato that we can't wait until Sweden gets the green light,", Mr Haavisto said after Sunday's conference.

Mr Stoltenberg said he expected both countries would be able to join the military alliance as early as this year, while admitting the decision depends on the Turkish and Hungarian parliaments.

Among the 30 Nato members, only Hungary and Turkey are yet to approve the two Nordic applications.

Putin sends ‘we will respond in kind’ warning to prospective Nato members Finland and Sweden - video

But Hungarians Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said Parliament will soon approve both Finland and Sweden's accession bids, leaving Turkey the only holdout.

Mr Stotenberg said that he expected the two countries to join Nato this year.

"But I will not guarantee the exact date, because it is of course a sovereign decision of the Turkish and Hungarian parliaments, [which] have not yet ratified the agreement," he told AFP.

Finland and Sweden "are clearly committed to long-term co-operation with Turkey," and "the time has come to finalise the accession process and to ratify the accession protocol", Mr Stoltenberg said..

In late December, Turkey praised Sweden for responding to its security concerns but stressed more was needed to win Ankara's full backing for Stockholm's stalled Nato membership bid.