The Swedish government has proposed a new law to ban activities that support terrorist organizations as the country's bid to join NATO faces objections from Turkey. It is reported by Bloomberg.

The five-year-old law should give the country a new tool to counter any claims by Turkey that the country is not doing enough to fight terrorism..

The law will enter into force on June 1 - immediately after the elections in Turkey, which are seen as a turning point in this process.. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seen by some observers as using the issue as a means to collect votes and also as an attempt to push NATO allies to cooperate with his country in the fight against terrorism..

According to Swedish Minister of Justice Gunnar Strommer, who presented the bill in Stockholm, participation in a terrorist organization with the aim of assisting, strengthening or supporting the relevant group will be prohibited..

“This is a far-sighted law, covering almost all cases of participation in this type of activity.. The current law requires an activity to be related to a specific act of terrorism in order to be illegal, but this law focuses on participation, which makes it much broader and stronger,” Strommer explained..

The law builds on constitutional amendments that went into effect on January 1 and is the culmination of years of work to strengthen terrorism laws that began after a truck rammed Stockholm's main pedestrian shopping street in 2017, killing five people..

The proposal comes at a time when efforts by Sweden and Finland to join NATO have been stymied by Turkey's refusal to ratify their membership bids.. Turkey initially focused its criticism on what it saw as insufficient efforts to combat terrorist groups.. These concerns were addressed in a memorandum signed by the three countries last June in which Sweden said it was preparing to further strengthen its anti-terrorism legislation..

In the months since Sweden and Finland filed membership applications, 28 out of 30 NATO members have ratified them, stressing that the two countries meet the criteria set by NATO for membership in the Alliance.. NATO diplomats hope to complete accession process before Alliance summit in Vilnius in July.

Meanwhile, Turkey's demands have changed, with Erdogan's rhetoric focusing more on an incident in which a Koran was burned outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm..

Strommer did not elaborate on whether the bill could affect the NATO accession process, but said the new legislation would give Sweden "

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Bilstrom told Dagens Nyheter newspaper that his government will not make any compromises when it comes to the country's laws on freedom of expression, and stressed that the memorandum signed with Turkey does not mention religious issues..

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Yesterday, February 1, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey would not approve Sweden's application to join NATO, while the attitude towards Finland on this issue is positive.

Ankara suspended negotiations after protests in Stockholm, during which activists burned the Koran.

It was also reported about a possible Russian trace in the actions held in the capital of Sweden.. The man who burned the Quran is likely to have links with the Russian special services.