Stoltenberg says to go to Turkey to discuss Sweden accession to NATO
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says he will be going to Turkey to discuss Sweden's bid to get into NATO.
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg talks to German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken prior to a group photo as part of a meeting of NATO's foreign ministers in Oslo, June 1, 2023 (AP)
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday he would soon travel to Turkey to discuss Sweden's NATO membership, as the West is still trying to convince Ankara to allow Stockholm into the alliance after the bid was pushed for months due to objections from Turkey and Hungary.
Stoltenberg revealed during a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Oslo that he had spoken earlier in the week to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who won re-election as president on Sunday.
As Erdogan was once again elected into office, NATO foreign ministers were optimistic that he would now allow Sweden to join the military alliance.
"Now that Turkish elections are over, it is important that Turkey goes on with the ratification process," Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said.
Several foreign ministers expressed hopeful confidence that Stockholm could become a member before or even at the Vilnius, Lithuania, NATO summit set for July.
"There is a very high expectation that the Swedish flag will be raised (in Vilnius)," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said.
Sweden claims to have met all the conditions set to become a NATO member, with Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstorm telling reporters, "We have fulfilled all our commitments."
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"It is time for Turkey and Hungary to start the ratification of Swedish membership to NATO," the top Swedish diplomat underlined.
Stoltenberg said Tuesday that it was "absolutely possible" to decide on Sweden's NATO membership before the alliance's July summit.
There are no guarantees, "but it's absolutely possible to reach a solution and enable the decision on full membership for Sweden by then," he told reporters in Oslo.
"We don't have any certainty. Of course, we are speaking about sovereign decisions by national parliaments," he said, adding that there was "a window now especially after the Turkish elections and with a Turkish parliament being constituted."
Sweden and its neighbor Finland applied to join NATO last year, citing changes in the European security scene as a result of the Ukraine crisis. While Finland went on to become a member, Turkey and Hungary have stymied Sweden's bid, with Budapest citing grievances over Stockholm's criticism of Orban's record on democracy and the rule of law, and Ankara accusing Sweden of harboring what it sees as Kurdish terrorists and, most recently, meddling in Turkish elections.
Additionally, Ankara suspended negotiations with Sweden in outrage following rallies attacking the Turkish leadership in Stockholm and the burning of the holy Quran outside Turkey's embassy, but the talks resumed in Brussels on March 9.
