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Added on the 19/05/2022 17:03:00 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
President Sauli Niniisto of Finland and Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden meet with their Turkish counterpart President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of a NATO summit in Madrid in a bid to get Erdogan to drop objections to them joining the US-led defence alliance. Erdogan has refused to greenlight the applications from the Nordic pair despite calls from his NATO allies to clear the path for them to enter. IMAGES
"We're confident that at the end of the day, Finland and Sweden will have an effective and efficient accession process, that Turkey's concerns can be addressed," US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says during a press briefing at the White House, in reference to Finland and Sweden's bid to join NATO. SOUNDBITE
Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson says the "northern flank of NATO is more complete" as he holds a press conference with his Norwegian and Finnish counterparts in Troms, Norway. Swedish troops are taking part in a vast NATO military exercise to simulate repelling an invasion of neighbouring Norway. SOUNDBITE
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says he has convened a meeting between the leaders of Turkey and Sweden on the eve of a summit next week to push Stockholm's stalled membership bid. "On Monday, in Vilnius, I will convene a meeting with President Erdogan and Prime Minister Kristersson, as the next step in this process," Stoltenberg says after talks at NATO headquarters with foreign ministers from the two countries. SOUNDBITE
NATO foreign ministers meet in Brussels the day after Finland officially joined the Atlantic Alliance, becoming its 31st member, in a historic realignment of Europe's defences spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine. IMAGES
U.S. President Barack Obama attends an outdoor arrival ceremony in heavy rain, as the first sitting U.S. president to visit Laos. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
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