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NATO chief to Erdogan: Sweden ‘has fulfilled obligations’ for membership

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday called on Ankara to drop its opposition to Sweden's bid to join the defence alliance, saying Stockholm has addressed Turkey's security concerns.

NATO chief to Erdogan: Sweden 'has fulfilled obligations' for membership
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks to journalists as he arrives for a Foreign Affairs Council at the EU headquarters in Brussels on May 23, 2023. Photo: Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD/AFP.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday called on Ankara to drop its opposition to Sweden’s bid to join the defence alliance, saying Stockholm has addressed Turkey’s security concerns.

“Sweden has taken significant concrete steps to meet Turkey’s concerns,” Stoltenberg told reporters after meeting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “Sweden has fulfilled its obligations.”

Stoltenberg attended on Saturday the inauguration of Erdogan, who was re-elected to serve another five years, in a lavish ceremony joined by dozens of world leaders in the capital Ankara.

NATO member Turkey has dragged its feet over admitting Sweden to the military alliance. It and Hungary are the only two member countries yet to ratify the membership bid.

Finland formally joined the alliance in April.

Erdogan has accused Sweden of being a haven for “terrorists”, especially members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group blacklisted by Turkey and its Western allies.

READ ALSO: Nato chief to travel to Ankara to push for Sweden’s Nato membership

Turkey and Sweden will hold another meeting on Sweden’s NATO application in mid-June, Stoltenberg also announced. “We have agreed that the parties will meet again during the week that begins on June 12th,” the NATO chief said.

When asked if he believes that Sweden will be included as a full NATO member at the alliance’s next summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on July 11th and 12th, Stoltenberg replied that “there is still time to make it happen.”

Earlier on Sunday, a demonstration against Swedish entry into NATO was held in Stockholm where PKK flags were flown. 

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SWEDEN AND GERMANY

What’s on the agenda for German chancellor’s visit to Sweden?

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in Sweden to discuss security and business competitiveness with his Nordic colleagues on a two-day visit.

What's on the agenda for German chancellor's visit to Sweden?

Scholz was to visit the Stockholm headquarters of telecommunications giant Ericsson on Monday, accompanied by the prime ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

They were to “discuss security policy issues such as hybrid threats, civil preparedness and new technologies,” the Swedish government said in a statement.

A press conference was to follow just before 6pm.

“At a dinner that evening, discussions will centre on continued support to Ukraine,” the government said, as Russian troops launched a major ground operation against Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region amid Kyiv’s struggles with Western aid delays.

The Nordic countries and Germany have been among Ukraine’s biggest donors since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

Berlin is the world’s second biggest donor to Ukraine, giving 14.5 billion euros so far, according to the Kiel Institute.

“Security policy and the upcoming Nato summit will top the agenda,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote in a piece published in financial daily Dagens Industri on Monday.

“Financial competitiveness issues” will also be discussed, he said, noting that “the Nordic region wants to play a key role in efforts to strengthen the European economy”.

On Tuesday, Kristersson and Scholz were scheduled to hold bilateral talks and visit the Norrsken Foundation, which supports young growth companies active in the green and digital transition.

Afterwards the two leaders were to sign a “strategic innovation partnership” between Germany and Sweden.

The visit was to be their first bilateral meeting since Sweden joined Nato in March 2024.

The next Nato summit will take place July 9th-11th in Washington.

“Sweden has, and must have, a clear international voice in the world,” Kristersson wrote in Dagens Industri.

The Scandinavian country has enjoyed decades of strong cooperation with Nordic and Baltic countries, and with intensified collaboration “with two other Baltic Sea countries, Poland and Germany, our region will be safer and stronger”, he said.

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