Published January 01,2024
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expects that the defence alliance will finalize the long-planned accession of Sweden in 2024.
He is confident that the country will be included as the 32nd member of the alliance at the NATO summit by July at the latest, Stoltenberg told dpa in an interview at the turn of the year.
Sweden had fulfilled its promises to Turkey, he said. Talks are currently underway between the United States and Turkey on the F-16 fighter jet deal that was a further demand made by the government in Ankara.
Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022, a decision affected by the Kremlin's war on Ukraine, and hoped to join later that summer.
However, Turkey accused Sweden of lacking commitment in dealing with "terrorist organizations" such as the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) and refused to give its consent. New members of the alliance must be unanimously approved by current members.
After Sweden made concessions, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently announced that he would allow ratification by the Turkish parliament. At the same time, however, he wants the US Congress to give its approval for the delivery of US F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.
The next regular NATO summit will be organized in Washington from July 9 to 11, and the alliance is also set to celebrate its 75th anniversary.
For Sweden to participate as a full member, all current members of the alliance must ratify the so-called accession protocol. Aside from Turkey, Hungary has also not yet done so. However, the government in Budapest has repeatedly emphasized that Hungary will not be the last country to take this step.
