Sweden’s accession to NATO was discussed between representatives of Sweden, Finland and Turkey in Ankara on Wednesday in order to move the process forward. But Sweden is far from achieving that goal, said Swedish negotiator Oscar Stenström.

According to Stenström, the meeting focused on how Sweden complies with the tripartite agreement with Turkey and Finland signed a year ago. More specifically, the topics discussed related to Sweden’s new anti-terrorist legislation that came into force on June 1 and its work against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party, considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the US) as well as arms exports.

“We are far from achieving the goal,” the Swedish negotiator told a press conference.

“The fight against the PKK has intensified,” he continued, citing last week’s prosecution of a suspected PKK financier as an example.

However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is more unhappy that Sweden allows demonstrations with PKK flags, to which Stenström replied that Sweden has extensive freedom of expression.

On Wednesday, the Turkish president said Sweden should not wait for Turkey to accept the Swedish NATO application before the summit in Vilnius in July.

“Sweden has expectations. That doesn’t mean we will fulfill them,” Erdogan told the press, adding that for Turkey to fulfill those expectations, Sweden must first do its part.

Erdogan believes Swedish police should say no to more protests involving Kurdish rivals. As long as what he calls “terrorists” continue to protest in Sweden, the country will not change, he added.

But Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson defended his government’s actions during questions in the Swedish parliament, arguing that his country had done what it had said it would do on the issue.

“Sweden has the same legislation as many NATO allies, where freedom of expression allows demonstrations,” he said, adding that participation in demonstrations and the use of symbols are already being used as evidence in the prosecution of the PKK’s suspected financier.

The fact that such things can be used as evidence under the new legislation could discourage people from participating in such protests and therefore persuade Turkey to say yes to Sweden’s application to join NATO, the Swedish negotiator believes.

Given Turkey’s reluctance, Stenström declined to speculate on when Sweden might join NATO and pointed out that not only Erdogan’s approval is needed, but also the Turkish parliament.

“Sweden could join at any time,” he noted.