NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks at a press conference in Germany on June 19 (Photo: Reuters).
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told Germany's DPA news agency this week that the next NATO summit will be held in Washington, US from July 9 to July 11 and the Nordic country will become a full member of NATO at that time.
Sweden and Finland are both applying to join NATO in 2022 after Russia launched a military campaign in Ukraine, but their applications need to be approved by all 30 NATO member states. So far, Finland has been approved to join NATO, while Sweden is still waiting.
Türkiye, a NATO member, has delayed ratifying Sweden's membership for more than a year.
Turkey has accused Sweden of being too lenient towards groups it sees as threats to its security, including Kurdish opposition forces and members of a network it accuses of being behind a failed coup in 2016.
However, the Turkish parliament 's foreign affairs committee approved Sweden's application to join NATO on December 26.
Sweden's accession protocol to the military alliance will need to be approved by the Turkish parliament for Ankara to ratify Stockholm's membership. It is unclear when the Turkish parliament will convene to discuss the matter.
Hungary has also delayed ratifying Sweden’s NATO application, accusing politicians in Stockholm of making inaccurate assessments about the state of Hungary’s democracy. Hungary has not set a date for ratifying Sweden’s membership.
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