Ankara. May 27. INTERFAX - Sweden and Finland are unlikely to be candidates for membership in the alliance at the upcoming NATO summit if they do not fulfill Turkey's demands before it begins, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
"Sweden and Finland, as invited countries, will be able to participate in the NATO summit in Madrid, but it will be difficult for them to realize their aspirations to become candidates for membership in the alliance if they do not fulfill Turkey's requirements by June 28," Stoltenberg said, quoted by the Anadolu agency.
"My goal is to accelerate the process of expanding the alliance, and we still have time for this," the Secretary General of the alliance said.
The NATO Summit will be held from 28 to 30 June.
Last week, Finland and Sweden applied for their countries' membership in NATO. However, the Turkish side blocked the process of reviewing applications, setting three conditions: the cessation of support by these countries for a number of Kurdish groups considered terrorist in Ankara, the provision of clear security guarantees and the lifting of export bans against Turkey.
If the applications of Finland and Sweden are approved by all thirty NATO member countries, the Secretary General of the alliance could officially invite these countries to begin the procedure of joining the organization at the upcoming summit.
Stoltenberg called Ankara an important NATO ally and stressed that "no country has suffered from terrorism like Turkey."
According to the Secretary General, "when an ally has concerns, the issue needs to be discussed and resolved."
