Stoltenberg hopes Sweden will join NATO in November
Oct 25, 2023
Brussels [Belgium], October 25: Sweden could be officially admitted to NATO as early as next month following Turkey's decision to stop blocking the Scandanavian country's accession.
In a letter to the current members of the defence alliance, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg named a meeting of foreign ministers on November 28 and 29 as the target date, several diplomats confirmed to dpa in Brussels on Tuesday.
Sweden originally hoped to join NATO as early as the summer of 2022.
However, until the beginning of this week the country's admission was blocked by Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan.
He accused Sweden of lacking commitment to combat "terrorist organizations" such as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). However, after concessions by Sweden, Erdogan announced on Monday that he would allow the Turkish parliament to ratify the so-called accession protocol.
It was initially unclear when the parliament would vote on the Swedish proposal because it has to be approved by the Commission for External Relations before the National Assembly can discuss it.
In addition, Hungary must also formally agree to Sweden's accession.
Sweden, together with Finland, decided to apply for NATO membership after a long period of military non-alignment in response to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Finland was admitted to NATO on April 4 this year as the alliance's 31st member.
Source: Qatar Tribune
