BRUSSELS: Turkey and Sweden are scheduled to hold discussions at NATO headquarters next Thursday regarding Stockholm’s bid to become a member of the alliance, announced NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
During a news conference on Wednesday, Stoltenberg expressed his support for Sweden’s full membership in NATO, stating, “The time is now to welcome Sweden as a full member of NATO.”
The NATO member states have been urging Turkey to give the green light to Sweden’s membership before the upcoming summit in Lithuania on July 11-12. However, Ankara has been hesitant and has delayed Stockholm’s efforts to join the US-led military alliance.
Stoltenberg also mentioned earlier this week that the talks would involve the foreign ministers and intelligence advisors from Turkey, Sweden, and Finland.
Turkey Blocks Sweden’s NATO Membership Bid
Since June 2022, Sweden has been an “invitee” to NATO, but its membership bid, which requires approval from all 31 member states, has been blocked by Turkey and Hungary.
Western officials had hoped that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would soften his stance on this diplomatically sensitive issue following his re-election victory last month.
Both Western allies and Stockholm assert that Sweden has fulfilled the conditions of a deal reached with Ankara last year. The agreement includes a commitment to crack down on Kurdish opposition movements, such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated as a “terrorist” group by Ankara.
Earlier this year, Turkey withdrew its objections to the membership of Sweden’s Nordic neighbor, Finland, and Helsinki became a NATO member in April.
