Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will meet today in Vilnius. The purpose would be to clarify Sweden’s NATO path before the summit of the military alliance.
The Western allies have something to worry about today, when the Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson and the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are negotiating in the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius.
The purpose would be to reach an understanding on the basis of which Turkey will welcome Sweden to the military alliance at the summit starting tomorrow.
Ylen is a foreign journalist specializing in Turkey Tom Kankkonen Swedes expect a lot from Kristersson.
– The hope is that Kristersson would make “Niinistöt”, says Kankkonen, referring to the president Sauli Niinistön for the March visit to Ankara.
During that visit, Finland received a decision from Turkey that the ratification of NATO membership will come.
But for Sweden, the situation did not seem to be moving in the right direction yesterday, Sunday, when Turkish President Erdoğan and the President of the United States Joe Biden sought a solution in a telephone conversation.
The information made public about the discussion does not exactly raise hopes.
– The signals are negative. It’s going to be a cold ride from the direction of Turkey, what has been said about it didn’t seem terribly promising, Kankkonen assessed in an interview with aam.
Erdgan had criticized the demonstrations and activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party PKK to Biden in Sweden.
– These cannot be banned in Sweden, because there is freedom of expression here.
According to Kankkonen, the Koran burnings in Sweden have a surprising effect on the country’s relationship with Turkey. In addition, Kankkonen brings up the fact that Turkey is currently negotiating with the United States about buying F-16 fighter jets. In the background, this may affect how Sweden’s NATO ratification progresses.
More information on the results of Kristersson’s and Erdoğan’s negotiations will be available tomorrow at the latest. On Tuesday, President Biden and President Erdoğan will also meet face-to-face as part of the NATO Summit in Vilnius.