NATO urges Türkiye to ratify Sweden's accession protocol

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on December 1 that he told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that “the time has come” for Sweden to become a member of the military alliance.

NATO thúc giục Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ phê chuẩn nghị định thư gia nhập của Thụy Điển

NATO Secretary General told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that it was 'time' for Sweden to become a member of the military alliance. (Source: top-channel.tv)

In an interview with AP news agency, Secretary General Stoltenberg confirmed that he had called on Turkey to complete the process during a meeting with President Erdogan on December 1 on the sidelines of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“I met President Erdogan this morning and I reiterated my message that the time has come to complete Sweden’s NATO accession process… I cannot give an exact date, but I welcome President Erdogan’s submission of the relevant documents to the Turkish parliament a few weeks ago,” Mr. Stoltenberg said.

Türkiye and Hungary are the two remaining NATO member states that have not formally accepted Sweden's request to join.

Ankara has delayed Stockholm's approval of its NATO membership bid for more than a year, accusing Sweden of not taking Türkiye's security concerns, including its fight against Kurdish militants, seriously.

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