Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Wednesday that the country still wanted to join NATO before or during their summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, next month, although he was not sure it would be able to do so. do it until then.
Sweden and Finland abandoned decades of military non-alignment after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, seeking greater security by joining NATO. Finland became a member of the alliance in April, but the process was slower for Sweden.
The Swedish government is eyeing joining the alliance at the July 11-12 summit, and while it has strong support from other members, including the United States, both Turkey and Hungary have so far avoided ratification.
“Sweden will become a member of NATO,” Kristersson said in an interview with state broadcaster SVT.
“Nobody can promise that this will happen specifically in Vilnius or just before Vilnius, even though that was our ambition all along. And this is an ambition that we also share with all the other NATO countries”, declared the premier.
Turkey alleges that Sweden hosts members of what it considers terrorist groups – a charge the Swedes deny – and has demanded the extradition of these factions as a step towards ratifying Sweden’s membership. Turkey even expressed outrage at the anti-Turkish demonstrations held in the Nordic country.
For its part, Sweden argues that freedom of expression is firmly enshrined in its constitution and that it has fulfilled all the requirements set out in an agreement with Turkey and Finland signed in Madrid a year ago.
Swedish and Turkish officials met on June 14 for what Sweden’s chief negotiator characterized as good talks, and are due to hold another meeting in Brussels, Belgium, hosted by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, ahead of the Vilnius.
“We also said that we respect that it is Turkey that makes Turkish decisions. It’s good that we have another meeting and maybe we can address the strange question mark ahead of the Vilnius summit in that kind of conversation,” added Kristersson.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
