Meeting President Erdogan, Stoltenberg Says NATO-Sweden Agreement Can Be Achieved

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg when received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Source: Presidency of The Republic of Turkiye)

JAKARTA - An agreement regarding Sweden's joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was reached on time, ahead of the summit of the alliance next month in Lithuania, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday after meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Stoltenberg said officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland will meet later this month to hold talks, to try to address objections from Turkey and Hungary that have delayed access to NATO membership from Sweden.

Previously, Turkey in March ratified Finland's offer to become a NATO member, but still objected to Sweden joining the alliance, as did Hungary. Russia itself has long opposed NATO expansion, calling it a threat to its own security.

In his objection to Swedish membership, Turkey said Stockholm was hiding members of militant groups it considered terrorists.

"Swedia has taken significant concrete steps to meet Turkey's concerns," Stoltenberg told reporters, referring to changes to the constitution by Sweden and increased counter-terrorism cooperation with Ankara.

Productive meeting w/ President @RTErdogan to prepare the #NATO Summit in Vilnius. We discussed Sweden’s NATO membership, and I welcome that #Türkiye, Sweden and Finland will meet again in the Permanent Joint Mechanism. pic.twitter.com/bFlMOJGBXa

— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) June 4, 2023

Productive meeting w / President @RTErdogan to prepare the #NATO Summit in Vilnius. We disclosed Sweden's NATO membership, and I welcome that #T\"urkiye, Sweden and Finland will meet again in the Permanent Joint Mechanism. pic.twitter.com/bFlMOJGBXa

To try to resolve unresolved issues, Stoltenberg said officials from Finland, Sweden, and Turkey will meet next week, but did not specify when. Meanwhile, NATO defense ministers will meet in Brussels, Belgium on June 15-16.

Stoltenberg's talks in Istanbul with President Erdogan took place a week after the Turkish leader was re-elected in the presidential election.

Political analysts say President Erdogan, who has sought to act as a mediator between Russia and the West in the context of Ukraine's war, is unlikely to make a decision on Sweden's NATO membership until the general election results are decided.

Stoltenberg told Reuters it was important to use the remaining time before the NATO summit in Vilnius in July to secure an agreement.