In a statement from the alliance on Friday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will go to Turkey this weekend to attend President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s inauguration and speak with him.
NATO chief visits Turkey: The journey occurs as Erdogan is under increasing pressure to withdraw his opposition to Sweden joining NATO.
After speaking with Erdogan on the phone earlier this week, Stoltenberg announced on Thursday during a NATO foreign ministers’ conference in Norway that he will shortly travel to Ankara to work towards Sweden’s membership “as soon as possible.”
According to the NATO statement, Stoltenberg would go to Erdogan’s inauguration on Saturday. The Turkish president was returned to office last week for a second five-year term.
According to the statement, Stoltenberg will “have bilateral meetings with President Erdogan and with senior Turkish officials” during the visit, which will go until Sunday.
Turkey, a NATO member, has taken its time in allowing Sweden to join the military alliance. However, it and Hungary have not yet ratified Sweden’s membership application.
In April, Finland formally joined the coalition.
Erdogan has claimed that Sweden provides a sanctuary for “terrorists,” particularly KDP (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) members.
On Thursday, Tobias Billstrom, the foreign minister of Sweden, stated that Sweden has met all of its requirements to join and that “it is time for Turkey and Hungary to start the ratification of the Swedish membership to NATO.”
Many of the ministers in attendance at the Oslo meeting expressed a desire for Sweden to join the alliance before the July 11–12 NATO summit in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
According to Stoltenberg, the objective is “absolutely possible.”
However, On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken added that “we fully anticipate” Sweden joining the Vilnius meeting. The US is the largest NATO member.