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Stoltenberg: Sweden close to NATO membership

2023-07-06 21:03:07, Kosova & Bota CNA

Stoltenberg: Sweden close to NATO membership

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday, after a meeting in Brussels aimed at overcoming Turkey's objections, that Sweden is close to NATO membership.

The NATO chief said the leaders of Sweden and Turkey will meet on Monday in Vilnius, Lithuania, ahead of a high-level NATO meeting to be held there on July 11-12, to overcome obstacles. for Sweden's membership in the military alliance.

"My main goal is for the agreement to be reached by the time the high-level meeting is held," he said after meeting with Swedish, Turkish and Finnish officials at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Last year, Sweden and Finland reversed their traditional stances of military non-commitment to seek protection under NATO's security umbrella following Russia's attack on Ukraine.

The request for NATO membership must be ratified by all member countries, while Finland received the green light in April this year, Turkey and Hungary have not yet given final approval to Sweden.

Stockholm's aim is to join NATO during the high-level meeting to be held in Vilnius.

"We are hoping and expecting a positive decision next week," Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told reporters in Brussels.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that Sweden is harboring members of militant groups, mainly supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which he accuses of financing terrorist groups and organizing demonstrations.

For its part, Sweden has said that it has fulfilled all the obligations it committed to during the talks with Turkey, including a new law according to which membership in a terrorist organization constitutes a violation of the law./ VOA





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