IZMIR, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson Monday in Vilnius, Lithuania — before the alliance’s summit on July 11-12 — in a last-ditch effort to overcome Turkey’s objections to Sweden’s bid to join NATO, the NATO secretary-general said Thursday after a tripartite meeting at the security alliance's headquarters in Brussels.
“It is possible to have a positive decision in the summit,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said after the meeting of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Sweden and Finland in the NATO headquarters under a tripartite mechanism established last year.
Stoltenberg, sounding determinedly upbeat, said the sides reaffirmed that Sweden’s membership was “within reach” and voiced hope for a favorable decision from Turkey. Ankara has been resisting pressures to give the nod to Sweden as NATO’s 32nd member, saying that Stockholm has been lenient toward groups that Turkey deems terrorists and a threat to its national security. NATO needs approval from all members to expand.
“What is possible and what we are trying to achieve is to get a positive decision in the summit where Turkey makes it clear that it is ready to ratify [Sweden’s bid],” Stoltenberg said, implying that, given the tight schedule, the ratification would have to come later even if Turkey agreed to lift its objections Monday.
