ANKARA — NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is set to travel to Turkey to attend President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s inauguration ceremony on Saturday, as part of a fresh charm offensive by the defense alliance to convince Ankara to admit Sweden.
Stoltenberg will also meet with Erdogan and senior Turkish officials during his two-day visit, according to an official announcement by NATO.
Stoltenberg and Bildt in Turkey
The visit marks a fresh push by NATO and Stockholm to finalize Sweden’s accession to the North Atlantic alliance before the bloc’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 11-12. Along with Stoltenberg, Swedish former premier and friend of Turkey Carl Bildt will also attend the inauguration to represent Sweden, Stockholm announced on Friday. Bildt, who was one of the top backers of Turkey's European Union membership bid during his early years as the Swedish foreign minister, is widely respected in the Turkish diplomatic circles.
