NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday during a visit to Sweden that Stockholm has taken important steps to meet Turkey’s demands for approval to join NATO.
Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last month, after Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
“I welcome the steps that Sweden has already taken to change its anti-terror legislation and that Sweden will ensure that the legal framework for arms exports reflects the future status of a NATO member with new commitments to allies,” Stoltenberg said during a news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersen.
“These are two important steps to address the concerns raised by Turkey,” he added.
Sweden’s prime minister said her country had changed its terrorism laws and was in the process of tightening them further.
“From July 1, we will also have stronger anti-terror legislation,” she said. So there are no doubts here about how strong Sweden is in dealing with terrorism and that we are ready to contribute to the fight against terrorism.”
Stoltenberg also said that the goal was for Sweden and Finland to join NATO “as soon as possible”, and that it was inconceivable that NATO members would not come to the defense of Sweden if it was attacked.