From the joint Press conference of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. Read the full statement on NATO.int
Question 1 (Reuters): My question is to Mr Secretary General. Mr Stoltenberg, Turkish President Erdoğan signaled that Türkiye could ratify Finland’s application to NATO alone. You already referred to this issue this week, you said the main question is not whether together the ratification, the main question is that they should be ratified as soon as possible. So my question is, is there a deadline for NATO? I mean, not an official deadline, but will it cause a problem for NATO if Türkiye does not complete the ratification process until Vilnius Summit? And in addition to that, Türkiye objects Sweden’s application mainly on terrorism-related issues, and you also emphasize that Türkiye has legitimate concerns on this terrorism issue. So, how this fight against terrorism issue will be discussed in Vilnius Summit? [speaks in Turkish]
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: So my consistent position has been and remains that the time has come to ratify both Finland and Sweden and make them full members of our Alliance. They have both made big steps since we signed the joint memorandum between Finland and Sweden and Türkiye in July at the NATO Summit in Madrid last year. They have removed any restrictions on arms exports, strengthened their legislation on terrorism. And Sweden is also amending their constitution and stepped up the cooperation with Türkiye, also established a permanent mechanism to continue to work closely with Türkiye in the fight against terrorism. So I continue to believe that the time is now to ratify both Finland and Sweden. Then also to add that I fully recognize that Türkiye has legitimate security concerns. No other NATO Ally has suffered more terrorist attacks than Türkiye. And that’s the reason why terrorism was an important part of the trilateral memorandum agreed in July. That’s why for NATO the fight against terrorism is one of the main tasks and why, of course, as we prepare for the Vilnius Summit, as we continue to adapt the Alliance, terrorism will be high on the NATO agenda. And I also believe that to have Finland and Sweden inside the Alliance will actually strengthen our capabilities to fight international terrorism. Then on your question of whether Finland and Sweden should ratify together or whether it’s possible to ratify Finland first and Sweden afterwards. Well, again my position is that both can be ratified now. But the main issue is not whether they are ratified together. The main issue is that Finland and Sweden are ratified as soon as possible. Then let me also say that I know that the burning of the Quran in Stockholm has created strong reactions in Türkiye. And I understand and I share the pain because I personally regard the burning of the holy book as a disgraceful act. And I understand the feelings of Muslims in Türkiye and around the world. And therefore I also strongly condemn the burning, but also welcome the fact that Sweden has been able to prevent other manifestations with the burning of the Quran as part of the manifestation. And I welcome also that the Swedish government and the Swedish Prime Minister has clearly condemned this disgraceful act. Not all acts which are disgraceful or immoral or provocative are illegal. But it is important to have a strong position and that’s what we have seen clearly from the Swedish government. So for me, this does demonstrate that Sweden and Finland understand and are implementing policies which recognize the concerns that Türkiye has expressed and also why I think that the time has come to ratify. Let me add one more thing. And that is that this is a Turkish decision. It’s the Turkish government, the Turkish parliament, that decides on the issue of ratification, and it’s a Turkish decision alone. Because what has to be decided by Türkiye is whether to ratify the accession documents and that is a decision that Türkiye has to take.
