Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wants Sweden to be allowed to join Nato. AFP
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wants Sweden to be allowed to join Nato. AFP
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wants Sweden to be allowed to join Nato. AFP
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wants Sweden to be allowed to join Nato. AFP

'Time has come' to admit Sweden into Nato


Simon Rushton
  • English
  • Arabic

Sweden should be allowed to join Nato after carrying out demands requested by Turkey, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday.

He said Sweden has done what is necessary to secure Turkey’s approval for membership.

“I have said that time has come to bring to an end the ratification process for Sweden,” Mr Stoltenberg told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.

Sweden and neighbour Finland, which shares a border with Russia, both applied for Nato membership in May last year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Nato members must give unanimous consent to new applicants and Turkey has demanded both countries crack down on groups it considers to be terrorist organisations and extradite people suspected of terror-related crimes.

Most of Turkey's demands have involved Sweden’s relationship with the Kurdish diaspora.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Sunday that it cannot accept some of those demands.

“Turkey has confirmed that we have done what we said we would do, but it also says that it wants things that we can't, that we don't want to give it,” Mr Kristersson said.

“We are convinced that Turkey will make a decision, we just don't know when.”

Mr Kristersson said it would depend on Turkey's internal politics and “Sweden's capacity to show its seriousness”.

“Legislation banning participation in terrorist organisations is being implemented, and Turkey is known to name individuals it wants extradited,” he added.

“It is also known that Sweden has legislation that is clear and means that it is up to the courts. We also do not extradite Swedish citizens to any country.”

He was speaking at the People and Defence conference, a meeting of Swedish foreign policy and security experts. Mr Stoltenberg was also there.

There was no immediate reaction from Turkey after either the Swedish comments on Sunday or Nato comments on Monday.

Sweden and the US have begun negotiations to form deeper security ties in the form of a defence co-operation agreement, the Swedish government said on Monday.

It will create a legal framework for the presence of US forces in Sweden and allows for closer bilateral co-operation than facilitated by Nato membership, the Swedish defence ministry said.

“The US is Sweden's most important security and defence partner, both bilaterally and within Nato,” the ministry said.

Last month, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Sweden was not even “halfway” through fulfilling the commitments it made to secure Ankara’s support.

That came after a Swedish court ruled against extraditing a man wanted by Turkey for alleged links to a 2016 failed coup.

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FIXTURES

Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan

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Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.

Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place playoff

Fixtures

Tuesday - 5.15pm: Team Lebanon v Alger Corsaires; 8.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Pharaohs

Wednesday - 5.15pm: Pharaohs v Carthage Eagles; 8.30pm: Alger Corsaires v Abu Dhabi Storms

Thursday - 4.30pm: Team Lebanon v Pharaohs; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Carthage Eagles

Friday - 4.30pm: Pharaohs v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Team Lebanon

Saturday - 4.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Team Lebanon

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MATCH INFO

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Real Madrid 2
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ODI: Tim Paine (capt), Aaron Finch (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.

T20: Aaron Finch (capt), Alex Carey (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Jack Wildermuth.

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Name: Kumulus Water
 
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GULF MEN'S LEAGUE

Pool A Dubai Hurricanes, Bahrain, Dubai Exiles, Dubai Tigers 2

Pool B Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jebel Ali Dragons, Dubai Knights Eagles, Dubai Tigers

 

Opening fixtures

Thursday, December 5

6.40pm, Pitch 8, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Knights Eagles

7pm, Pitch 2, Jebel Ali Dragons v Dubai Tigers

7pm, Pitch 4, Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Exiles

7pm, Pitch 5, Bahrain v Dubai Eagles 2

 

Recent winners

2018 Dubai Hurricanes

2017 Dubai Exiles

2016 Abu Dhabi Harlequins

2015 Abu Dhabi Harlequins

2014 Abu Dhabi Harlequins

Updated: January 09, 2023, 2:36 PM