The Swedish Prime Minister reaffirmed that his country was preparing to join NATO only after Finland. This was said by Ulf Kristersson on Wednesday at a joint press conference with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin. Signs in recent weeks indicate that Turkey is preparing to ratify Finland's accession before Sweden's, he said. "We are also prepared for this situation." But it is no secret of the fact that Sweden would prefer joint accession with Finland. "We believe we are ready for ratification. But we respect that only Turkey can make Turkish decisions," he said.

Matthias Wyssuwa

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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Scholz reiterated that Germany wanted both countries to join NATO quickly. In terms of duration, it is also a rapid accession process. "But we already have the goal that this will soon become something and that Sweden will become a member of NATO very quickly," he said. "This is good for Sweden, this is good for NATO and our Alliance, which has underlined its importance and significance in recent months."

After Russia's attack on Ukraine, Sweden and Finland broke with their long tradition of military non-alignment and jointly applied for NATO membership in May last year. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had announced resistance to accession. In addition to an embargo by the Swedes on arms exports to Turkey, the treatment of Kurdish activists was one of the points of criticism.

After an agreement between the three countries, Sweden tightened the terror legislation, among other things, but Turkey does not see the points of the agreement fully implemented to this day and demands the extradition of Kurdish activists. Most recently, Erdogan made it clear that he could let the Finns pass before the Swedes. 28 out of 30 NATO countries have ratified the accession of Finland and Sweden, only Hungary and Turkey have not.

Meanwhile, Finland's President Sauli Niinistö is expected in Turkey this Thursday. First, a visit to the southeastern Turkish earthquake region is planned, followed by a meeting with Erdogan in Istanbul on Friday. The working visit will include bilateral relations between the two countries and the NATO accessions of Finland and Sweden.