Blinken urges Turkey to approve Sweden's NATO bid
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Turkey on Tuesday to approve Sweden's bid to join NATO.
"The time is now," Blinken stated during a visit to Sweden and insisted "there's no reason for not moving forward." The US top diplomat noted Turkey's concerns about Sweden and Finland joining NATO were "important and legitimate" but claimed both Scandinavian countries addressed them and should be members of the alliance. "We look forward to this process being completed in the weeks ahead. We have no doubt that it can be, and it should be and we expect it to be," Blinken stated.
Earlier, NATO Secretary FGeneral Jens Stoltenberg remained confident Sweden could join NATO by its summit in July. Finland and Sweden both applied to join the alliance in 2022 after Russia attacked Ukraine. While Helsinki's bid was approved earlier this year, Ankara still has concerns about Sweden's membership due to alleged Islamophobia in the country.