Daily Times

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday said he would visit Ankara “in the near future” to push the ratification of Sweden’s membership, after the re-election of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “I’m confident of course that Sweden will be a member, and then we’re working for that to happen as early as possible,” Stoltenberg said at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Oslo. Stoltenberg said he had already spoken to Erdogan by phone earlier this week to “highlight the importance of making progress” on Sweden’s membership. Türkiye and Hungary are the only NATO countries that have yet to ratify Sweden’s membership bid. Finland formally joined the alliance in April. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said Stockholm had fulfilled “all the commitments” to join NATO and urged Türkiye and Hungary to allow his country into the alliance. “It is time for Türkiye and Hungary to start the ratification of the Swedish membership to NATO,” he said. “This was never a sprint, it’s a marathon, and we now see the end of it.” Billstrom said he hoped to see a big step made towards membership at a meeting with representatives of Türkiye in the coming weeks.