No Stalemate in Sweden's NATO Membership Process: Stoltenberg Says He Spoke with Erdogan

The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated on Tuesday that he does not see a stalemate in the process of Sweden’s membership in the North Atlantic alliance. “There is no deadlock; it existed, but we were able to get out of it... We are continuously holding consultations. I recently spoke with Turkish President Erdogan, and we continue to work at different levels to make progress on Sweden’s admission to the alliance,” Stoltenberg said at a press conference in Brussels.

He noted that both sides have resumed negotiations regarding Sweden’s accession to NATO. “Sweden will become a member of NATO. We are working hard to make that happen as soon as possible,” the NATO Secretary General added.

Earlier on Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden, congratulating NATO on Finland's accession to the alliance, expressed hope that Sweden would join the alliance as soon as possible. Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in 2022.

Turkey, as a NATO member, set several conditions that the two Nordic countries needed to meet for Ankara to ratify their entry into the alliance. Subsequently, Turkey announced that Sweden had not fully met these conditions. In February, a puppet depicting the President of Turkey was hung upside down in front of the Stockholm City Hall, and the Koran was burned in front of the Turkish embassy. Following these incidents, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that it was pointless for Sweden to expect Ankara to advance its NATO membership application. Consequently, negotiations regarding Sweden's NATO accession were frozen.