ANKARA
After a phone call with the Turkish president on Wednesday, Sweden’s new minister said his government would abide by a trilateral memorandum on its NATO membership.
Ulf Kristersson said on Twitter that his verbal exchange with Recep Tayyip Erdogan was constructive and that he hoped to visit Ankara soon.
“Constructive verbal telephone exchange with President @RTErdogan. I hope to visit Ankara soon. My government will complete the trilateral memorandum between Turkey, Finland and Sweden for #OTAN accession,” Kristersson said.
Constructive phone call with President @RTErdogan Thinking of visiting Ankara soon. My administration will complete the trilateral memorandum between ?????? accession to the #OTAN.
Turkey is following Sweden’s commitment to an agreement it signed in June on the Nordic country’s offer to join NATO, the Turkish president told Kristersson on the call.
Reacting to an Oct. 19 letter from Kristersson, Erdogan said he would welcome Turkey through Sweden’s new prime minister.
Finland and Sweden officially implemented to join NATO in June, a move motivated by Russia’s war with Ukraine.
However, Türkiye, a NATO member for more than 70 years, has voiced objections to the club’s offers, criticizing countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.
The 3 countries signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding at the June NATO summit in Madrid, which states that Finland and Sweden will not provide aid to the PKK/YPG, the Syrian branch of the PKK terrorist organization, nor to the Fetullah terrorist organization (FETO), the organization of the coup defeated in Turkey in 2016.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization across Turkey, the EU and the United States, and is responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, young people and children. the Syrian branch of the PKK.