Swedish and Turkish Foreign Ministers to Meet Soon for NATO Discussions

The Swedish Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that "the foreign ministers of Sweden and Turkey will meet soon to discuss the delay in Stockholm's attempt to join NATO." Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. While Finland joined the military alliance in April, Sweden's accession has been postponed due to objections from Turkey and Hungary. The recent Turkish presidential elections, in which current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan won a runoff on Sunday, have further complicated the process. A spokesperson for Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström stated, "We have been informed that the Turkish Foreign Minister will not come, and therefore there will be no meeting," adding that the meeting will take place soon. He confirmed that "his government hopes Sweden will become the 32nd member of NATO by the time of the alliance's summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12."