Ahead of NATO’s meeting this month, its Secretary- General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, is calling on Turkey not to veto Sweden’s bid to join the military alliance.
Mr. Stoltenberg spoke to journalists on Sunday after his meeting with Turkish President Recep Erdogan.
According to him, Sweden’s membership will not only make it safer, but also make NATO and Turkey stronger.
The meeting between the two sides was also attended by Turkey’s newly appointed foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, the former head of Turkey’s intelligence agency.
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Officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland will meet next week to attempt to resolve the issues that have delayed Sweden’s NATO membership through a permanent joint mechanism set up to address Turkey’s concerns about Sweden and Finland.
In March, Turkey ratified Finland’s bid for membership, and it became NATO’s 31st member the following month.
All 31 member countries must ratify a candidate’s accession protocol for it to join the transatlantic alliance. NATO wants to bring Sweden into the fold by the time United States President Joe Biden and other leaders meet in Lithuania on July 11-12.
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