ANKARA: Sweden should not expect a green light from Ankara on its NATO membership bid at the Western alliance’s summit next month unless it prevents anti-Turkiye protests in Stockholm, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
Turkiye cannot approach Sweden’s NATO bid positively while “terrorists” were protesting in Stockholm, and Turkiye’s position would be made clear once again in talks with Swedish officials in Ankara on Wednesday, Erdogan was quoted as telling reporters on a flight returning from Azerbaijan on Tuesday.
Erdogan spoke as officials from Turkiye, Sweden, Finland and NATO met on Wednesday in Ankara for talks to try to overcome Turkish objections holding up Sweden’s NATO membership bid.
Sweden’s chief negotiator Oscar Stenstrom said the talks with Turkish officials had been good and that discussions aimed at overcoming Ankara’s objections would continue, though no fresh date was yet set.
“It’s my job to persuade our counterpart that we have done enough. I think we have,” Stenstrom said. “But Turkiye is not ready to make a decision yet and thinks that they need to have more answers to the questions they have.”
In a statement, the Turkish presidency said the level of progress by Sweden under a trilateral deal agreed in Madrid last year was discussed in the meeting. The parties agreed to continue working on the “prospective concrete steps” for Sweden’s NATO membership, the statement said.
In March, Turkiye ratified Finland’s bid for membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but still objects to Sweden joining the alliance, as does Hungary.
In justifying its objections to Swedish membership, Turkiye has accused Stockholm of harboring members of Kurdish militant groups it considers to be terrorists.
Sweden says it has upheld its part of a deal struck with Turkiye in Madrid aimed at addressing Ankara’s security concerns, including bringing in a new anti-terrorism law this month. It says it follows national and international law on extraditions.
Turkish-Swedish tensions were most recently fueled by an anti-Turkiye and anti-NATO protest in Stockholm last month, when the flag of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, outlawed in Turkiye as well as in the European Union, was projected on to the parliament building.
Commenting on Sweden’s recent legal changes Erdogan said: “This is not only a matter of a law amendment or a constitutional change. What is the job of the police there? They have legal and constitutional rights, they should exercise their rights. The police should prevent these (protests).”
While he was having talks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg earlier this month, a similar protest was held in Stockholm, Erdogan said. He added that he also told Stoltenberg Sweden should prevent such actions to secure Turkiye’s approval for its NATO membership.
After meeting Erdogan, Stoltenberg said a deal on Sweden joining the alliance could be reached before the NATO summit in Vilnius next month.
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Turkiye won’t back Swedish NATO bid unless it stops anti-Turkish protests -Erdogan
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Turkiye won’t back Swedish NATO bid unless it stops anti-Turkish protests -Erdogan
- Turkiye is pushing Sweden to ban and crack down on anti-Turkish rallies.
Somaliland’s Israel deal could put Berbera port at risk
BERBERA: Somaliland says its recognition by Israel could be a boon for its Berbera port. But with missiles flying across the region, it could also be a target.
Berbera port on the Gulf of Aden has been transformed by the United Arab Emirates firm DP World over the past decade into a state-of-the-art facility on one of the world’s busiest trade routes.
Berbera still handles far fewer containers than nearby Djibouti or Mombasa, but port traffic was up 30 percent from 2023 to 2025, and recent diplomatic moves could lead to much more.
A deal under negotiation with Ethiopia, a landlocked neighbor with more than 130 million inhabitants, could see traffic rise by another 80 percent, said port authority director Ali Diriye Ahmed.
Ethiopia did not respond to queries on the subject.
And Israel’s recent decision to recognize Somaliland’s independence — the first country to do so since it declared autonomy from Somalia in 1991 — promises a “tremendous increase,” said Ahmed, already envisioning an expansion of the port.
But an alliance with Israel also brings risks, particularly as the US-Israeli attacks on Iran this weekend increase the threat of regional war.
Abdel Malek Al-Houthi, leader of the Houthi group in Yemen, had already warned that any Israeli presence in Somaliland would be considered a “military target.”
“We really don’t know what is going on there. Sometimes there are 20 planes coming in a week,” said a DP World employee, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“There is a widespread assumption that there is an Israeli military or security presence that is already in the country,” a Western diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity, though any military cooperation will remain secretive.
If their presence was confirmed at the Emirati base, it could leave the port vulnerable to Houthi or Iranian missiles.
There is also a more local threat from Al-Shabab, the Somali affiliate of Al-Qaeda, that has said it will oppose any attempt by Israel to use Somaliland.
Somaliland authorities “only saw the recognition, without thinking about the future,” fears Roland Marchal, a regional specialist based at France’s Sciences Po university.
’Contribute to peace’
Hargeisa initially denied any negotiations regarding an Israeli military base on its soil, only to recently indicate that “nothing is off the table.”
“We are not partnering with Israel to be against anyone,” said Khadar Hussein Abdi, Somaliland’s minister of the presidency and adviser to President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi.
Somaliland “wants to contribute to peace in the region,” he told AFP.
In Berbera, a peaceful but little-developed city of 70,000, the atmosphere remains optimistic.
Its mayor, Abdishakur Mohamoud Hassan, said population numbers and tax revenues had soared since DP World took control of the port, allowing for free primary schools and new health clinics.
With Israel’s recognition, “we expect this city to develop similarly to Dubai,” he said with a smile, adding that he was “not afraid” of attacks by Israel’s enemies.
“If a country like Ukraine has been resisting Russia for years, we too will not be intimidated by the Houthis,” he said.
Berbera port on the Gulf of Aden has been transformed by the United Arab Emirates firm DP World over the past decade into a state-of-the-art facility on one of the world’s busiest trade routes.
Berbera still handles far fewer containers than nearby Djibouti or Mombasa, but port traffic was up 30 percent from 2023 to 2025, and recent diplomatic moves could lead to much more.
A deal under negotiation with Ethiopia, a landlocked neighbor with more than 130 million inhabitants, could see traffic rise by another 80 percent, said port authority director Ali Diriye Ahmed.
Ethiopia did not respond to queries on the subject.
And Israel’s recent decision to recognize Somaliland’s independence — the first country to do so since it declared autonomy from Somalia in 1991 — promises a “tremendous increase,” said Ahmed, already envisioning an expansion of the port.
But an alliance with Israel also brings risks, particularly as the US-Israeli attacks on Iran this weekend increase the threat of regional war.
Abdel Malek Al-Houthi, leader of the Houthi group in Yemen, had already warned that any Israeli presence in Somaliland would be considered a “military target.”
“We really don’t know what is going on there. Sometimes there are 20 planes coming in a week,” said a DP World employee, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“There is a widespread assumption that there is an Israeli military or security presence that is already in the country,” a Western diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity, though any military cooperation will remain secretive.
If their presence was confirmed at the Emirati base, it could leave the port vulnerable to Houthi or Iranian missiles.
There is also a more local threat from Al-Shabab, the Somali affiliate of Al-Qaeda, that has said it will oppose any attempt by Israel to use Somaliland.
Somaliland authorities “only saw the recognition, without thinking about the future,” fears Roland Marchal, a regional specialist based at France’s Sciences Po university.
’Contribute to peace’
Hargeisa initially denied any negotiations regarding an Israeli military base on its soil, only to recently indicate that “nothing is off the table.”
“We are not partnering with Israel to be against anyone,” said Khadar Hussein Abdi, Somaliland’s minister of the presidency and adviser to President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi.
Somaliland “wants to contribute to peace in the region,” he told AFP.
In Berbera, a peaceful but little-developed city of 70,000, the atmosphere remains optimistic.
Its mayor, Abdishakur Mohamoud Hassan, said population numbers and tax revenues had soared since DP World took control of the port, allowing for free primary schools and new health clinics.
With Israel’s recognition, “we expect this city to develop similarly to Dubai,” he said with a smile, adding that he was “not afraid” of attacks by Israel’s enemies.
“If a country like Ukraine has been resisting Russia for years, we too will not be intimidated by the Houthis,” he said.
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