Before Sweden joins NATO, Turkey has expressed concerns and speaks of alleged support for “terrorist organizations”. In a declaration of intent, the Scandinavians take a step towards Ankara – including permission to export arms to Turkey.
As part of its application for membership in NATO, Sweden is ready to deliver arms to Turkey for the first time in years. The competent authority ISP approved the export of war material to NATO member Turkey for the first time since 2019. According to a statement from the authorities, the step is directly related to the NATO application.
Sweden and neighboring Finland had applied to become members of the defense alliance in mid-May as a result of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Turkey initially blocked the start of this process, citing alleged Swedish and Finnish support for “terrorist organizations”. At the end of June, the three countries signed a declaration of intent that addressed Ankara’s reservations. Arms deliveries to Turkey also played an important role.
For Sweden and Finland to become NATO members, their applications must be ratified by all 30 NATO members. 28 have already done so – only Turkey and Hungary are still missing. The Strategic Products Inspectorate (ISP) is responsible for approving arms exports in Sweden. In October 2019, the authority revoked all applicable export licenses for the export of war material to Turkey. No new permits have been issued since then. According to the authority, there is no arms embargo against Turkey.
Turkey had also demanded the extradition of more than 70 “terrorists”. This was not recorded in the official document. However, the three countries had declared that they wanted to make deportations easier, among other things. From Stockholm it was said that Swedish citizens would not be extradited, non-Swedish citizens could be extradited at the request of other countries, but only if this was compatible with Swedish law and the European Convention on Human Rights.
