NATO: Sweden took steps to meet Turkey's concerns
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg underscored on Sunday that Stockholm has fulfilled its obligations demanded by Ankara in order to ratify its accession to the alliance by taking "significant" and "concrete steps" to meet Turkey's security concerns.
Stoltenberg revealed that Sweden "stepped up" counterterrorism cooperation, including against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), with the anti-terrorist legislation coming into law last week. The NATO chief also said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed that the next meeting of the Permanent Joint Mechanism with Sweden will take place "in the week starting June 12."
"Turkey has legitimate security concerns. No other ally has faced more terrorist attacks," Stoltenberg said during the press briefing in Istanbul, following the meeting with Turkish president. "I look forward to ratifying Sweden's accession," the NATO secretary-general said.