US media: Sweden's accession to the treaty this summer may be difficult to achieve, as neither country has agreed to NATO | Sweden | Both countries
On the eve of the NATO summit, Swedish Prime Minister Christsson's visit to the United States to urge Sweden to join NATO as soon as possible is a key topic of discussion between Christsson and the United States. Although the US does not conceal its urgent desire for Sweden to join, due to internal differences within NATO, this wish may not be realized in the short term.
On July 5th local time, US President Biden held talks with visiting Swedish Prime Minister Christian Song at the White House, focusing on promoting Sweden's accession to NATO as soon as possible. Biden said that the United States is eager for Sweden to become a member of NATO. It is widely analyzed that the NATO led by the United States is trying to promote Sweden's entry into NATO, hoping to gain the so-called "great symbolic significance" against the background of the continuation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, according to the analysis of American media, due to the strong opposition of Türkiye, a member of NATO, Sweden is unlikely to be allowed to "enter the Treaty" in the short term.
Türkiye resists pressure and explicitly opposes Sweden's "accession" to the Treaty
On the 5th, President Erdogan of Türkiye said on the phone with Prime Minister Rutte of the Netherlands that in recent months, the Swedish government has allowed forces sympathetic to the PKK to "continue to organize demonstrations freely and praise terrorism" in Stockholm, the capital, which made Sweden's efforts to win Türkiye's consent to its accession to NATO come to naught.
Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Feidan also said on the 4th that he did not agree with NATO to impose pressure on Türkiye by setting a time limit for Sweden's "accession".
Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Feidan: Türkiye has never been in favor of imposing pressure by setting a time limit. Türkiye will adhere to its own principles to deal with this matter.
Hungarian parliament postpones vote on Sweden's accession to the treaty
![US media: Sweden's accession to the treaty this summer may be difficult to achieve, as neither country has agreed to NATO | Sweden | Both countries](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/b26625e6fe0881e077a35c3662a79c0e.jpg)
Apart from Türkiye, Hungary has not approved Sweden to join NATO at present. Moreover, according to the latest agenda arrangement of the Hungarian parliament, there was no vote on whether to agree to Sweden's accession to NATO before this NATO summit, and Sweden's application for "accession" will be postponed until the resumption of the autumn meeting at the earliest. Swedish government officials have previously criticized Hungary's internal affairs multiple times. Hungarian Prime Minister Orban made it clear at the end of May that the current political relationship between Hungary and Sweden is poor, and Sweden needs to improve bilateral relations before seeking to join NATO.
Hungarian Prime Minister Orban: Due to the poor political relationship between Sweden and Hungary, we must first improve bilateral relations. We don't want to bring the conflict into NATO, so we will first handle the differences between the two countries, and then we will support them.
After the escalation of the Ukraine crisis in February 2022, Sweden and Finland simultaneously applied to join NATO in May of the same year. Last July, representatives of 30 NATO member countries signed a protocol for Finland and Sweden to join the treaty. According to regulations, NATO must have the unanimous consent of 30 member countries before it can admit new members. Finland was officially approved to join NATO on April 4 this year. However, due to the opposition of Türkiye and Hungary, there is no definite timetable for Sweden to join.
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Türkiye has not yet agreed to Sweden's joining NATO. Stoltenberg: Erdogan and Christson will meet before the summit
Türkiye, Sweden and NATO held trilateral talks in Brussels, Belgium on the 6th. Turkey still did not agree to Sweden's accession to NATO, but the three parties agreed to negotiate again on the 10th before the opening of the NATO summit in Vilnius.
Türkiye's Foreign Minister Feidan, Sweden's Foreign Minister Bilstrom and NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg attended the talks on the same day. Fidan stated after the meeting that countries wishing to join NATO must take a more firm stance on counter-terrorism issues. Sweden has taken measures in legislative reform, but legislative reform needs to be reflected in practice. Moreover, Sweden has not prevented some provocations that affect Türkiye's position.
![US media: Sweden's accession to the treaty this summer may be difficult to achieve, as neither country has agreed to NATO | Sweden | Both countries](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/20bc9e030d286903b052d54c2665d6a0.jpg)
Stoltenberg said at a press conference after the meeting that it was a productive meeting, and the three parties unanimously agreed that good progress had been made during the meeting. Sweden's accession to NATO is in the security interest of all allies.
The NATO summit will be held in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius from the 11th to the 12th. Stoltenberg said that he will arrange a meeting between Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Christensen the day before the summit.
Bill Stern stated after the meeting that progress has been made and a "positive" decision is expected next week.
After the escalation of the Ukraine crisis in February 2022, Sweden and Finland simultaneously applied to join NATO in May of the same year. Last July, representatives of 30 NATO member countries signed a protocol for Finland and Sweden to join the treaty. According to regulations, all NATO member states must unanimously agree to accept new members. Finland was officially approved to join NATO on April 4 this year, but Türkiye and Hungary have not yet officially approved Sweden to join.