NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg sounded positive but still guarded about Sweden’s bid to join the alliance. His latest statement came after US urged Turkey to clear way for Sweden. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is fresh from an election victory.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said it was “within reach” for Sweden to join in time for the July 11-12 NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
“There are no guarantees but it’s absolutely possible to reach a solution and enable the decision on full membership for Sweden by then,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Oslo on the eve of a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting to prepare for the summit.
Watch | US President Biden & his Turkey counterpart Erdogan discuss F-16, Sweden in NATO
Sweden and Finland changed their neutral stance last year after Russian invasion of Ukraine and applied to become members of NATO. However, the decision to induct a new member must be taken unanimously by existing members. Turkey allowed Finland to become NATO member in April but it is still blocking Sweden’s bid.
Turkey has been raising the issue of Kurdish militants.
‘Sweden is ready’
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that that the Swedish government has already addressed Turkey’s concerns.
“There is no reason for any further time. Sweden is ready now,” Blinken told a news conference with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in the northern Swedish city of Lulea.
“We urge both Turkey and Hungary — which also has not yet ratified — to ratify the accession as quickly as possible,” he said.
The State Department said that Blinken raised Sweden’s case with Turkey in a telephone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. The issue had also come up during phone conversation between US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Erdogan. Biden had called Erdogan to congratulate him on his election victory.
Blinken said the United States wants the process to be “completed in the weeks ahead” but stopped short of saying if he was certain it would be finished by the summit.
Turkey’s unhappiness
Erdogan has in past expressed his displeasure against Sweden’s generous asylum policies and has accused the country of giving shelter to ‘terrorists’ from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The PKK is outlawed in Turkey.
The topic came to the fore as late as Monday, when the pro-Kurdish Rojava Committee of Sweden posted an anti-Erdogan video on social media. The video showed a PKK flag being projected onto the Swedish parliament.
Stoltenberg said he was in “constant contact” with Turkish authorities to try to lift the final obstacles to Sweden’s accession.
(With inputs from agencies)
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