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NATO

Turkish and Swedish leaders to meet for Nato talks

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet in Vilnius for Nato talks on Monday.

Turkish and Swedish leaders to meet for Nato talks
Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at a press conference in November 2022. Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT

“What we are working to achieve is a positive decision at the summit where Turkey makes clear it is ready to ratify,” Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said after talks at Nato headquarters with foreign ministers from the two countries.

The meeting between Kristersson and Erdogan will be convened by Stoltenberg, he announced in a press conference after the foreign ministers of Sweden, Turkey and Finland met in Brussels on Thursday.

“We’re all in agreement that there has been good progress,” he added, repeating his stance that Sweden is ready to join the alliance. “All further delays will only benefit the PKK and Putin.”

The meeting on Monday will take place a day before Nato’s summit in Vilnius begins on July 11th. Sweden’s government has said previously that it is hopeful that Sweden will be able to join Nato at the summit, but it looks like this will not be possible.

“Naturally, a ratification in the Turkish parliament cannot take place until Monday,” Stoltenberg said, adding that having Sweden as a Nato member would strengthen the alliance.

“In April, we welcomed Finland into the Nato family. That has been a gamechanger for our security. Now, it’s time to welcome Sweden.”

Sweden has fulfilled its commitments under the trilateral memorandum which the three countries agreed on last summer, Stoltenberg believes, adding that he expects “continued progress” over the weekend.

All Nato countries bar Turkey and Hungary have approved Sweden’s Nato application.

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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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