MEA RISK’s SHIELD & ALERT notifications: Access requires installing Shield & Alert mobile application. More info on S&A here or click here to signup and install.

Turkey’s inflation ticks up to 62%

Turkey's annual inflation rate ticked up slightly in November, the state statistics agency said on Monday, showing further signs of levelling off following a series of sharp interest rate hikes. The rate moved to 61.98 percent last month from 61.36 percent in October,...

Turkey’s opposition fractures ahead of March polls

By Dmitry Zaks: Turkey's main opposition party lost a crucial ally Monday in its bid to form a united front against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling coalition in high-stakes March municipal polls. The secular opposition joined forces in landmark 2019 elections...

Turkey: Istanbul’s popular opposition mayor faces fresh trial

By Dmitry Zaks: Istanbul's popular opposition mayor went on trial Thursday on fresh corruption charges that could further cloud his hopes of succeeding President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ekrem Imamoglu has turned into one of Erdogan's most outspoken and openly ambitious...

Sweden eager to get NATO bases even before membership

Posted On 9 June 2023

Sweden, whose NATO membership bid is currently blocked, is ready to welcome temporary NATO bases on its soil even before it is a full member, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Friday. “The government has decided that the military can undertake preparations with NATO and NATO member states to enable future joint operations,” Sweden’s conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote in an article co-signed by Defence Minister Pal Jonson in daily Dagens Nyheter.

“These preparations could include temporary stationing of foreign materiel and personnel on Swedish soil,” they wrote. “The decision sends a clear signal to Russia and strengthens Sweden’s defence.”

The presence of NATO troops would serve as a deterrent against any possible Russian actions from across the Baltic Sea. Sweden has been a NATO “invitee” since June 2022, but its bid, which must be ratified by all 31 member states, has been blocked by Turkey and Hungary. Only full members are covered by NATO’s Article 5 collective defence clause under which an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not provided any indication, since his re-election in late May, about whether he plans to  approve Sweden’s NATO bid.

Western nations, and the United States in particular, have been pushing Ankara to give its green light, insisting that Sweden has met the terms of a deal agreed with Ankara last year. That accord includes a committment to crack down on opposition Kurdish movements, such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party PKK, blacklisted by Ankara which considers them “terrorist” groups. But Turkey has also demanded that Stockholm extradite dozens of activists living in Sweden that it also labels as “terrorists”. The Swedish government has insisted that it cannot make such decisions since its judiciary is independent. In addition to bidding to join NATO, Sweden has also hiked its military spending following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

AFP

More from Turkey

Turkey’s inflation ticks up to 62%

Turkey's annual inflation rate ticked up slightly in November, the state statistics agency said on Monday, showing further signs of levelling off following a series of sharp interest rate hikes. The rate moved to 61.98 percent last month from 61.36 percent in October,...

Turkey’s opposition fractures ahead of March polls

By Dmitry Zaks: Turkey's main opposition party lost a crucial ally Monday in its bid to form a united front against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling coalition in high-stakes March municipal polls. The secular opposition joined forces in landmark 2019 elections...

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This