Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan: ‘Sweden’s legal changes need to be reflected in practice’

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Sweden’s actions must align with the legal amendments made following the memorandum signed in Madrid last year, as Stockholm pushed Türkiye to approve its NATO membership bid.

Addressing a news conference after the fifth meeting of a permanent joint mechanism between Türkiye, Finland and Sweden in the Belgian capital Brussels on Thursday, Hakan Fidan said, “It is imperative that countries wishing to join NATO take a firm stand on fight against terrorism.”

“Sweden has taken steps in terms of legislative changes, but legislative changes need to be reflected in practice.”

He said that Sweden could not prevent provocations, which affected Ankara’s stance, referring to the recent desecration of the Quran in Stockholm.

He, however, added that Türkiye fully supports the military alliance’s open-door policy.

For his part, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said progress was made during the meeting and his country expects “a positive decision next week.”

The meeting came before the NATO leaders summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12.

Earlier, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said he, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson would hold talks in Vilnius on Monday-eve of the summit-“as the next step in this process.”

Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership soon after Russia launched a war in Ukraine last February.

Although Türkiye approved Finland’s membership, it has not ratified Sweden’s bid, saying Stockholm has yet to address its security concerns.