NATO countries agree on Sweden's membership: Stoltenberg
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg alleges that the US-led Western military alliance's members have agreed that, following Finland's earlier accession to the body, Sweden has to become a member of the grouping as soon as possible.
"We welcomed Finland as our newest member, and [Finnish Foreign] Minister [Pekka] Haavisto took up Finland's seat among NATO allies," Stoltenberg said on Wednesday in Brussels after NATO's foreign ministers held two days of talks in the Belgian capital.
"Allies also agree that Sweden should become an ally as quickly as possible," he added.
Finland and Sweden applied last year to join NATO following Russia's start of a "special military operation" in Ukraine.
Moscow has explicitly warned the countries that they have fallen victim to "the Russophobic frenzy" that followed the initiation of the conflict in Ukraine, adding that the countries have failed to put their interests above those of the collective West.
All 30 allies signed Finland's and Sweden's accession protocols. Turkey delayed the process for months but recently agreed on Finland.
Ankara had sought guarantees and assurances from Helsinki -- notably on tackling what it calls "terrorism" and "extremism" -- finding fault with the Nordic country's harboring of anti-Ankara elements.
Turkey is yet to officially announce the removal of its objection to Sweden's NATO membership. Stoltenberg's remarks sounded, though, as if Ankara had let go of its opposition.
Earlier on Wednesday, however, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Sweden needed to take further steps for Ankara to ratify its NATO membership bid.
"The steps Sweden has taken so far are insufficient; they must cooperate on the fight against terrorism," Cavusoglu told reporters at a news conference on the sidelines of the Brussels meeting.
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