Sweden’s defence minister said Tuesday his country’s top priority is to gain full NATO membership before the allied leaders gather for their next summit, saying an addition will make the trans-Atlantic alliance even stronger.
NATO wants to bring Sweden into the fold by the time United States President Joe Biden and other allied leaders meet July 11-12 in Vilnius, Lithuania, but Turkiye and Hungary have yet to endorse the move.
All 31 member countries must ratify a candidate’s accession protocol for it to join the alliance.“The Swedish government’s highest priority is to become a full-fledged member of NATO as soon as possible,” said Swedish Defence Minister PÃ¥l Jonson, in Japan for talks his Japanese counterpart and other officials.
“We’re hopeful that we can become it by the Vilnius Summit.” Turkiye’s government has criticised Sweden for being too lenient on terror organisations and security threats, while Hungary has not given details. Jonson said he respects the decisions of Turkiye and Hungary, and that Sweden has new anti-terrorism legislation that would “close up any remaining loopholes there” to address Turkiye’s concern.
“We think the whole northern flag of NATO would be strengthened by Sweden being a full-fledged member into NATO,” Jonson said.