7.8 C
London
Saturday, November 9, 2024
HomeGlobal NewsNATO Chief Hopeful for Sweden's Inclusion in the Alliance

NATO Chief Hopeful for Sweden’s Inclusion in the Alliance

Date:

Related stories

The Russian Fantasy Of Infallibilty

London 30 October (20). In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean...

Russia economy meltdown as bonds crash and shopping centres face mass bankruptcy

The Union of Shopping Centres (STTs) estimates that half...

Ukrainian capture North Korean

Kiev 1 November 2024. The Ukranian army eliminated a...

Russian, Chinese disinformation sites blocked in Singapore

Singapore 23/10 (28.57). Ten fake websites have been blocked by...
spot_imgspot_img

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he has told President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that “the time has come” to let Sweden become a member of the military alliance.

Türkiye and Hungary are the only NATO countries that have not yet formally approved Sweden’s accession bid.

Stoltenberg told The Associated Press that he urged Türkiye to finalize the process as he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.

“I met with President Erdogan this morning and I reiterated my message that the time has come to finalize the accession process for Sweden,” he said.

Türkiye has delayed ratification for more than a year, accusing Sweden of not taking Türkiye’s security concerns seriously enough, including its fight against PKK and FETÖ members.

An apparent breakthrough happened at a NATO summit in July when Erdoğan said he would submit accession documents to Parliament, but a debate on the matter in the foreign affairs committee was adjourned last month without a decision.

Stoltenberg couldn’t say when he expected the ratification process to be completed.

“I’m not able to give an exact date, but I welcome the fact that just a few weeks ago President Erdogan submitted the papers for ratification to the Turkish Parliament,” the NATO leader said. “My message in the meeting today was, of course, that now the time has come to ensure that the Parliament finalizes its deliberations and concludes the ratification of Sweden as a formal NATO member.”

Sweden and neighboring Finland decided to drop their long-standing policy of non-alignment and apply for NATO membership following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. Finland joined NATO in April. New members must be approved by all existing members of the alliance.

Source : Hurriyetdailynews

Latest stories

spot_img