Today, Monday, representatives of Sweden, Finland and Turkey will meet with NATO representatives in Brussels to continue talks on the two Nordic countries’ respective applications to the Defense Alliance.
After previous talks, Turkey has stated that these have not turned out well. At the same time, Turkey has made continued demands on Sweden to, among other things, disclose what they believe are terror suspects and lift what they claim is an arms embargo.
According to Paul Levin, director of the Institute for Turkey Studies at Stockholm University, however, there are some signals that the lock that has prevailed between the countries may now be about to open up.
“Positive signal”
– It seems that Turkey has released initial blockades that NATO could begin to prepare an application process. It now seems to have been let go. Then we also now see the trilateral talks that are happening. So it is at least a certain positive signal anyway, says Paul Levin in Morgonstudion.
At the same time, he emphasizes that the situation remains strained.
– But the situation is very locked and if you listen to statements from Turkish politicians, there does not seem to be any direct will to go to Sweden or Finland to meet, he says.