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Added on the 26/02/2024 19:34:06 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcome Turkey's decision to push ahead with ratifying Finland's membership, and says Sweden should also be allowed to join as soon as possible. "The most important thing is that both Finland and Sweden become full members of NATO quickly, not whether they join at exactly the same time," Stoltenberg said. SOUNDBITE
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is welcomed to Ankara by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, as Kristersson makes a bid to persuade Turkey to drop its opposition to Sweden joining NATO. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Sweden and Finland abandoned their long-held policy of non-alignment and applied to join the military alliance. But Turkey has stalled ratification of their bids, accusing them of harbouring outlawed Kurdish militants. IMAGES
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto meets with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson in Stockholm, as the two Nordic neighbours prepare a bid for membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance. Both nations, which have traditionally remained non-aligned in military matters, have reconsidered their positions on the US-led defence grouping after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. IMAGES
The NATO flag is hoisted at a military base in the Swedish capital Stockholm, symbolising the Nordic country's accession into the military alliance. On 7 March 2024, Sweden became the 32nd member of NATO in the shadow of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, turning the page on two centuries of non-alignment. IMAGES
Sweden joining NATO shows Russian President Vladimir Putin "failed" in his Ukrainian war strategy of weakening the alliance, its chief Jens Stoltenberg says. The Kremlin's invasion not only prompted formerly non-aligned nations Sweden and Finland to come under NATO's defence umbrella, but now "Ukraine is closer to NATO membership than ever before," Stoltenberg adds. SOUNDBITE
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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