29 countries are ready, but there are still two ratifications before Sweden becomes a full member of NATO: Turkey and Hungary.
Turkey has so far expressed its dissatisfaction with the way Sweden has fulfilled its part of the agreement, something that has been consistently rejected by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Meanwhile, Turkey has promised that it will work to ratify Sweden in October – and with three weeks left in that month, time is running out.
Now patience with the Turks is running out, Verdens Gang said, referring to three “central NATO diplomats.”
When NATO defense ministers meet on Wednesday in Brussels, the message to other parts of the defense alliance will be clear.
– There will be a huge message to Turkey that membership must be ratified now, someone says.
Turkey could violate the agreement
If no progress is made in the near future, NATO will have to review the agreement signed by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersen and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July – and whether Turkey has violated that agreement.
It’s not said what exactly that could mean. But the result may be that Secretary-General Stoltenberg begins to use a harsh glove: “harsh, direct language.”
VG spoke with Norwegian Defense Minister Björn Arild Gramm about Wednesday’s meeting.
Our expectations are clear, which is that Sweden’s membership in both Hungary and Turkey will be ratified soon. I will of course express this at the NATO Defense Ministers’ meeting, as he says and continues:
Sweden adds important defense capabilities to the alliance.
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