Turkey Will Not Approve Sweden's NATO Membership Application Until Next Month: Erdogan

On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that Sweden should not expect Turkey to approve its application for NATO membership until after the leaders' summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, next month. This was reported by DW.

Erdogan indicated that the Turkish delegation would deliver this message during the meeting, saying, "This is our president's opinion; do not expect anything different in Vilnius."

He emphasized that Sweden has not yet taken sufficient measures to suppress protests by Kurds against his government, as well as issues related to the Kurds and the Kurdistan Workers' Party. According to him, the amendments to the laws are inadequate.

"This is not just a question of changing laws or constitutional amendments. What about the police work there? They have legal and constitutional rights; they need to exercise their rights. The police should prevent these protest actions," Erdogan stated.

The last two protests occurred in late May and early June, with one coinciding with the meeting between NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Erdogan on June 4. Erdogan noted that he had told Stoltenberg at that time that Sweden must prevent such actions in order to secure Turkey's approval.