NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday urged Ankara not to oppose Sweden’s joining the defense alliance, stressing that Stockholm had taken Turkey’s security concerns into account.
“Sweden has taken important concrete steps to address Turkey’s concerns,” Stoltenberg told reporters after a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “Sweden has fulfilled its obligations.”
Mr Stoltenberg attended a lavish inauguration ceremony in the capital Ankara on Saturday for Erdogan, who was re-elected for another five years, joined by dozens of world leaders.
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership over a year ago. Finland was officially accepted into the alliance in April this year. However, Hungary and Turkey, the only two member states, refuse to ratify Sweden’s accession to the military alliance.
RT Erdogan accuses Sweden of harboring “terrorists”, including members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), blacklisted by Turkey and its Western allies.
Source: The Delfi
