The eyes of the whole world are on the critical NATO Summit to be held on July 11-12. While the war between Russia and Ukraine continues, the main agenda item of the meeting to be held in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, will be Sweden’s membership in the alliance.
“SEPARATIONS OF OPINION CONTINUE”
Turkey objects to Sweden’s membership in the alliance because of its support for terrorism. It was stated that Türkiye and Sweden made progress in the negotiations, but differences of opinion continued.
“There are still distances that need to be closed”
The latest statement on the subject came from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “There are still distances to be closed between Turkey and Sweden regarding NATO membership,” Stoltenberg said.
Stoltenberg, at a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, answered the question about the meeting attended by the foreign ministers, heads of intelligence and national security advisers of the three countries yesterday.
Evaluating the meeting as “good and constructive”, Stoltenberg stated that they have made progress, but there are still deficiencies that need to be addressed.
Stoltenberg said, “This is why I invited President Erdogan and Prime Minister Kristersson to a meeting in Vilnius on Monday. The three of us will meet there, accompanied by our experts, to look at the details, to discuss concrete issues where there are differences between the positions of Turkey and Sweden. This is the best way to resolve the differences. ” said.
Reiterating that Sweden has fulfilled its commitments in the Triple Memorandum signed at the Madrid Summit last year, Stoltenberg stated that Turkey also has legitimate security concerns.
“This is why we sit and talk. We know that some other NATO allies also have security concerns associated with Sweden joining NATO as soon as possible,” Stoltenberg said. said.
Stating that these are the Baltic countries, Stoltenberg said that the great advantages of Sweden’s full membership should be seen, and that Sweden’s participation would be good not only for the Baltic countries, but also for the entire northern region and all NATO members including Turkey.
COMBAMS TO UKRAINE
While answering the question about the USA’s plan to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine, which is at war with Russia, Stoltenberg stated that each NATO member will decide for himself which weapon or ammunition to provide, and that NATO has no authority in this regard.
Stating that there are different opinions among NATO allies regarding the supply of cluster munitions, Stoltenberg reminded that some members had signed the contract prohibiting cluster munitions in the past and they did not have such weapons.
“Cluster munitions have already been used by both sides in the war in Ukraine before. Russia used it to attack Ukraine. Ukraine is using it to defend itself against an aggressor,” Stoltenberg said. he said.
It was stated that the new military aid package to be announced by the USA for Ukraine included cluster munitions. Some human rights groups and anti-war activists are calling for cluster munitions not to be used, on the grounds that such bombs can spread over a wide area and affect civilians as well.
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