NATO Secretary-General: Sweden Took Important Steps to Meet Turkey's Requirements

Hulme, June 13 (QNA) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Sweden has taken important steps to meet the requirements set by Turkey to approve Stockholm's accession to NATO.
Stoltenberg said, at a press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, that he welcomes the steps that Sweden has already taken steps to change its anti-terror legislation, and that Sweden will ensure that the legal framework for arms exports reflects the future status as a member of NATO with new commitments towards the allies.
He said these are two important steps to address the concerns raised by Turkey, noting that the goal is the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO "as soon as possible." For her part, the Prime Minister of Sweden said that her country has changed its laws on terrorism, and is in the process of tightening them further.
"From July 1, we will also have stronger anti-terror legislation. So there are no doubts here about how aggressively Sweden is with terrorism and its willingness to contribute to the fight against it," she added.
Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last month, but were opposed by Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously stressed that his country's approval for Sweden and Finland to join NATO depends on the extent to which these two countries take into account Turkey's security concerns, specifically stopping support for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Turkey classifies as a terrorist organization. (QNA)