Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said he is ready to resume stalled talks on his country’s NATO bid as soon as Turkey is ready.
Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, and while most alliance member states ratified the requests, Turkey has not yet given consent.
Countries are admitted to NATO only with the approval of all members of the alliance.
The three countries reached an agreement last year on how to proceed, but Ankara pulled out of the talks in January as tensions escalated after protests in Stockholm where a far-right politician staged a gathering burning the Quran.
“The first thing we need is to calm the situation down. It’s hard to conduct effective negotiations when everything around you is literally on fire,” Kristersson told a news conference.
According to him, favorable conditions have developed for the resumption of negotiations, but given the upcoming elections in Turkey in May, it is clear that Ankara is focusing on domestic politics.
“Once they are ready to negotiate, of course we will be ready,” Kristersson said.
