NATO
June 27, 2022
NATO Secretary General welcomes Prime Minister of Sweden to NATO Headquarters
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the Prime Minister of Sweden Magdalena Andersson to NATO Headquarters on Monday (27 June 2022) for discussions on Sweden and Finland’s applications to join the Alliance. The Secretary General said the security concerns of all Allies must be taken into account as part of the NATO accession process and that Türkiye’s concerns are legitimate and must be addressed.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the Prime Minister of Sweden, Magdalena Andersson
Mr Stoltenberg said: “We are now working together on an agreement between Sweden, Finland, and our Ally Türkiye, to further address security concerns, including around arms exports and the fight against terrorism.” The Secretary General explained that Sweden and Finland’s applications for NATO membership are historic and that their membership of NATO would boost transatlantic security.
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NATO
June 27, 2022
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg:
Good afternoon, Prime Minister Andersson, dear Magdalena, it is great to meet you here in Brussels, so soon after we met in Sweden, and just on the eve of the Madrid Summit.
Together with Finland, Sweden is our closest partner. We share the same neighbourhood, challenges, and values, and the same interest to protect our people and the international rules-based order.
…I have strongly welcomed the applications made last month by Sweden and Finland to join NATO.
We are now working very actively on the next steps in the accession process.
You and I have been in close contact these past weeks, and over the weekend we both spoke with President Erdoğan.
The security concerns of all Allies must be taken into account as part of the NATO accession process.
Türkiye’s concerns are legitimate, and must be addressed.
No Ally has suffered more at the hands of terrorists than Türkiye, including grievous attacks by the terrorist group PKK.
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That is why, at the Summit in Madrid, I have convened a special session devoted to NATO’s counter-terrorism efforts.
And that is also why Sweden and you personally, Prime Minister, have taken concrete steps in recent days to directly address Türkiye’s concerns.
You have already amended Swedish law.
You have launched new police investigations against the PKK, and you are currently looking at Turkish extradition requests.
These concrete steps represent a paradigm shift in Sweden’s approach to terrorism in a more dangerous and more unpredictable world.
We are now working together on an agreement between Sweden, Finland, and our Ally Türkiye, to further address security concerns, including around arms exports and the fight against terrorism.
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I am also grateful that President Erdoğan, President Niinisto, and Prime Minister Andersson have accepted my invitation to meet together in Madrid tomorrow.
That will be a further opportunity to address Türkiye’s concerns, and move forward with NATO accession for Finland and Sweden.
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