United States: The United States has urged Turkey to approve Sweden’s accession to NATO, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying that “the time is now” for the northern European country to join the alliance.

Speaking alongside Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, the top US diplomat noted that Sweden has been qualified to join NATO “from day one” and has taken significant steps to address Turkey’s “legitimate” security concerns.

“From the perspective of the United States, the time is now to finalise Sweden’s accession,” Mr. Blinken told reporters in the northern Swedish city of Lulea.

Sweden and neighbouring Finland started seeking NATO membership last year after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

All members of NATO have to agree to allow new countries into the bloc. Finland officially joined the alliance last month, but Sweden’s application is still pending.

Hungary and Turkey have not yet ratified Sweden’s entry, with Turkey being seen as the primary obstacle. Turkey has accused Sweden of offering refuge to individuals associated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group that Turkey considers a “terrorist” organization. Turkey, however, says Sweden has not fulfilled all of its commitments in the agreement.

“Turkey has raised important and legitimate concerns. Sweden and Finland both addressed those concerns. And so, the time to move forward is now. We’d like to see that happen before the Vilnius summit,” Mr. Blinken further stated, referring to a NATO meeting in the Lithuanian capital in July.

Earlier, US President Mr. Joe Biden shared that he discussed Sweden’s NATO bid with his Turkish counterpart, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who won the recent election runoff.

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