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Added on the 08/01/2023 20:48:41 - Copyright : Euronews EN
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
Turkey signs a memorandum with Finland and Sweden supporting the invitation for the two Nordic countries to become members of NATO. 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
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says the country is ready to discuss Finland and Sweden's plans to join NATO, despite accusing them of harbouring "terrorist organisations". SOUNDBITE of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says Turkey should approve Sweden's stalled bid for membership "as soon as possible". "Sweden has delivered on what they promised and now the time has come for Turkiye to finalise the accession process," Stoltenberg tells a press conference in Brussels. Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO members to not yet have ratified Sweden joining the alliance over 18 months after it applied for membership. SOUNDBITE
The United States welcomes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's submission to parliament of Sweden's NATO membership and hopes for approval as soon as possible. "We welcome that step," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller tells reporters, voicing hope that the bill "will be considered in the Turkish parliament and passed as soon as possible." SOUNDBITE