Defense minister: Sweden expects to join NATO by beginning of Vilnius summit

Sweden expects to join NATO by the beginning of the summit in Vilnius, which will be held in July this year, Swedish Defense Minister Paul Jonsson said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, Report informs.

“I hope that by the summit in Vilnius on July 11-12 we will be able to join the Alliance. We feel strong support... I had the honor of hosting Defense Minister Austin two days ago in Sweden, and he said that it is very important that Sweden become member of the Alliance by the Vilnius Summit,” he said.

Hungary and Türkiye put forward a number of requirements for Sweden’s entry into NATO. In particular, Türkiye demands that Sweden refuse cooperation with terrorist organizations, as well as extradite terrorists. Recently, Hungary announced that during the autumn session, the country's parliament will ratify the agreement on Sweden's accession to NATO. Türkiye, for its part, plans to continue negotiations with Stockholm on this issue in June.