(Bloomberg) -- Swedish voters are backing their government in saying the Nordic country should refrain from compromising on its legal principles to win Turkey’s ratification for its NATO application, according to a poll.
Sweden should continue to abide by its laws in the face of Turkish demands even if it means delaying its membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, according to 79% of people who responded to the poll commissioned by newspaper Dagens Nyheter and published late on Monday. In contrast, 10% said Sweden should seek to join as soon as possible regardless of whether that entails concessions on its legal principles.
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has objected to Sweden and Finland joining NATO since they put in bids in May, arguing that the Nordic countries need to do more to combat terrorism, including extraditing people who Turkey accuses of terrorist links. A few weeks ago Sweden’s Supreme Court ruled against the extradition of a man Turkey has said was involved in a 2016 coup attempt against the president.
Both Nordic governments have insisted they will step up counter-terrorism efforts, while underscoring the independence of courts in deciding on extraditions. 28 of 30 NATO countries have ratified their entry into the bloc, with Hungary also stalling.
The poll also showed a 60% approval for Sweden’s NATO application, an all-time high. The survey of 1,248 respondents was carried out by Ipsos via online surveys, and no margin of error was available.
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