Sweden

Erdogan: Sweden can’t join NATO if Quran-burning is allowed

February 3, 2023 Suzan Fraser and Jari Tanner, Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed Wednesday that Turkey won’t allow Sweden to join the NATO military alliance as long as the Scandinavian country permits protests desecrating Islam’s holy book to take […]

Sweden’s leader courts Turkey’s support for NATO membership

November 8, 2022 Suzan Fraser, Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey — Sweden still has “many steps to take” to win Turkey’s approval for its NATO membership bid, a top Turkish official said Tuesday as Sweden’s new prime minister visited Ankara in hopes of […]

Swedish parties make deal to govern with hard-right support

October 14, 2022 Karl Ritter, Associated Press

STOCKHOLM — Three Swedish center-right parties on Friday agreed to form a coalition government with the support of the Sweden Democrats, a once radical far-right group that has moved toward the mainstream but retains a […]

Swedish PM formally resigns after right-wing bloc wins vote

September 16, 2022 Jan M. Olsen, Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Sweden’s Social Democratic Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on Thursday handed in her resignation after a right-wing bloc that includes a nationalist, anti-immigration party won a narrow majority in Sweden’s parliament. Andersson met […]

NATO nations sign accession protocols for Sweden, Finland

July 5, 2022 Raf Casert, Associated Press

BRUSSELS — The 30 NATO allies signed off on the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland on Tuesday, sending the membership bids of the two nations to the alliance capitals for legislative approvals — and […]

Swedish, US troops drill on remilitarized Baltic Sea island

June 13, 2022 James Brooks, Associated Press

VISBY, Sweden — Having to defend Gotland against a foreign invasion seemed such a far-fetched notion to Swedish decision-makers at the start of the century that they demilitarized the Baltic Sea island. Now, the Swedish […]

Turkey’s Erdogan still against Finnish, Swedish NATO bids

June 2, 2022 The Associated Press

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s president has told journalists he still intends to block Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said meetings with Finnish and Swedish delegations had not been “at the expected level,” noting […]

McConnell: Finland, Sweden ‘important additions’ to NATO

May 19, 2022 Lisa Mascaro, Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday that Finland and Sweden would be “important additions” to NATO as he led a delegation of GOP senators to the region in a show of […]

Neutral Finland, Sweden warm to idea of NATO membership

March 4, 2022 Jari Tanner, Associated Press

HELSINKI — Through the Cold War and the decades since, nothing could persuade Finns and Swedes that they would be better off joining NATO — until now. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has profoundly changed Europe’s […]

MOORE: In the end, Sweden did it right

February 28, 2022 Stephen Moore

What if two years ago, when COVID-19 first hit these shores, our politicians hadn’t panicked? What if the government did what it has done every time we were confronted with a deadly virus, such as […]