My Visit to Ankara has Brought Sweden Closer to NATO Membership, Blinken Says

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Monday that Sweden is closer to joining NATO following discussions with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara.

“I am confident that we will see progress on resolving this issue,” he said in response to a question about whether Turkish authorities had given him assurances regarding Sweden’s NATO membership.

Before leaving Ankara, Blinken also stated that the United States is encouraged by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s move to present Sweden’s application to the Turkish parliament to join the alliance. The Secretary assured that both Washington and Ankara want Sweden to join NATO.

Sweden submitted its application to join NATO in 2022. At this time, all NATO members, except for Turkey and Hungary, have ratified Sweden's accession to the alliance.