NATO Secretary General following the meeting between Türkiye🇹🇷, Sweden🇸🇪 and Finland🇫🇮, 06 JUL 2023

Press conference by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg following the meeting of senior officials from Türkiye, Sweden and Finland on Thursday 6 July 2023 at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. 🗣 | NATO Secretary General: Good afternoon. I have just finished chairing a productive meeting on Sweden’s membership in NATO, with delegations from Türkiye, Finland and Sweden. One year ago, at the Madrid Summit, all Allies agreed to invite Finland and Sweden to join our Alliance. Finland and Sweden also signed a Trilateral Memorandum with Türkiye, paving the way for their membership. Since then, Finland and Sweden have implemented this Memorandum, including through meetings of the Permanent Joint Mechanism to strengthen cooperation on counter-terrorism, organised crime, and other common challenges. All Allies stand together against terrorism. And at next week’s NATO Summit, we will recommit to fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. In April, we welcomed Finland into the NATO family. This has been a game-changer for our shared security. And now it is time for Sweden to join the Alliance. I have been clear that Sweden has delivered on the commitments it made under the trilateral memorandum. Sweden has amended its constitution and introduced new anti-terrorist legislation. Removed restrictions on arms exports to Türkiye. And stepped up counter-terrorism cooperation, including against the PKK. In the meeting we all agreed that we have made good progress. We all agreed that the full membership of Sweden is in the security interest of all Allies. And we all want to complete this process as soon as possible. We have seen demonstrations against Türkiye, and against NATO, in Sweden. They want to stop Sweden from joining NATO. To disrupt counter-terrorism cooperation. And weaken our Alliance. So we must be clear-eyed. The only people who benefit from these provocations are those who want to divide NATO. Any further delay in Sweden’s membership would be welcomed by the PKK and President Putin. Sweden’s membership will bring major military benefits to the whole Alliance. Adding Sweden will allow us to plan for the defence of the entire Arctic-Nordic-Baltic region as one. It will provide an uninterrupted shield from the Black to the Baltic Sea region. Sweden’s membership in NATO will make us all stronger and safer. Today, we reaffirmed that Sweden’s membership is within reach. And that ratification of Sweden’s membership does not mean the end of cooperation with Türkiye. Far from it, as Finland’s continuing engagement here today shows. On Monday, in Vilnius, I will convene a meeting with President Erdoğan and Prime Minister Kristersson as the next step in this process. With that, I’m ready to take your questions. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ SUBSCRIBE to this channel SUBSCRIBE to NATO News SUBSCRIBE to NATO History Connect with NATO online: Visit the Official NATO Homepage: Receive NATO updates via email: Find NATO on FACEBOOK: Follow @NATO on TWITTER: Follow NATO on Instagram: Find NATO on LinkedIn: Find NATO on Flickr: #NATO #Sweden #türkiye #Finland