NATO chief to visit Turkey, push Erdogan for ratification of Sweden’s bloc membership
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg
As NATO countries push for Sweden's membership into the bloc, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is all set to visit Turkey on 3-4 June 2023. A statement by the alliance said thatStoltenberg is visiting the Middle-Eastern nation toattend the inauguration ceremony for the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara on Saturday, 3 June.
In addition to attending the ceremony, the NATO chief will also hold bilateral meetings with President Erdogan and with senior Turkish officials, the statement added.
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The Turkish president was re-elected last week and will head the government for yet another five-year term, defeating main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
The Secretary-General will also have bilateral meetings with President Erdogan and senior Turkish officials.
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US has been pushing Turkey to remove hurdles and endorse Sweden's bid to join NATO. NATO Secretary General who was in Oslo for the bloc's foreign ministers' meeting said, "There are no guarantees but it's absolutely possible to reach a solution and enable the decision on full membership for Sweden by then."
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The next NATO summit will be held in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 11-12, 2023.Stoltenberg said that Sweden is "within reach" to join the summit in time.
"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.
Hungary, Turkey yet to ratify Sweden’s NATOjoining
Though Finland formally joined the military alliance in April, Sweden is still struggling in its bid for membership. Turkey and Hungary are the only two member countries yet to ratify Sweden's membership bid. While raising the issue of Kurdish militants, Turkey is still in opposition to Sweden's membership in the bloc.
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Meanwhile, Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs earlier said that there are ample "grievances" that need to be addressed before Sweden's admission is ratified.As per reports, Budapest is not moving forward with its support for Sweden over its criticism of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's record on democracy and the rule of law.
Swedencalls on Turkey, Hungary for ratification
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom on Thursday called on Turkey and Hungary "to start the ratification of the Swedish membership to NATO".
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