NATO chief says meeting to be held July 6 on Sweden's bid to join alliance

GENEVA

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that a meeting concerning Sweden's bid to join the alliance will be held July 6.

Noting that a NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 11 - 12 will be the first that Finland is participating as a member, he said: "We are working to finalize Sweden’s accession as well."

"Therefore, I have called another meeting of senior officials from Türkiye, Sweden and Finland next Thursday," he said during a news conference with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.

"The time is now to welcome Sweden as a full member of NATO."

Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership soon after Russia launched a war in Ukraine in February 2022.

Although Türkiye approved Finland's membership to NATO, it is waiting for Sweden to abide by a trilateral memorandum signed last June in Madrid to address Ankara's security concerns on terrorism.

Seeking to win Türkiye’s greenlight for membership, a new Swedish anti-terror law, which took effect earlier this month, allows authorities to prosecute individuals who support terror groups.

Turkish officials have said Sweden tolerated and even supported PKK members on its soil, and that steps taken to change it need to be proven before it joins the alliance.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK -- listed as a terror organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

Several countries have said they hope Türkiye will approve Sweden's bid ahead of the NATO summit next month.