Months on, there are few signs that Turkey plans to honor its pledge to help Sweden join NATO

By LORNE COOK
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — Three months after Turkey agreed to expedite Sweden’s NATO membership bid, little sign of progress has emerged. NATO defense ministers are meeting Thursday and the issue was expected to be raised. Sweden gave up on decades of military non-alignment after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, to seek protection under NATO’s security umbrella. But Ankara said Sweden has been too soft on Kurdish militants and other groups it considers to be security threats. After winning Swedish concessions and an offer of U.S. fighter jets, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised in July to work with parliament to get the application done. But he is yet to send the key accession protocol to the assembly for ratification.