Stoltenberg met with senior officials from Finland, Türkiye, and Sweden to discuss Sweden's accession to NATO.

He said that the three countries have made good progress in implementing the Trilateral Memorandum, which was signed in Madrid in 2022.

The memorandum sets out the steps that Sweden must take to address Türkiye's concerns about terrorism.

Stoltenberg said that Sweden has taken a number of steps, including amending its constitution, introducing new anti-terrorist legislation, and removing arms export restrictions on Türkiye.

He said that he will convene a meeting in Vilnius on 10 July with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Türkiye and Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden to discuss the next steps in the accession process.

"Today, we reaffirmed that Sweden's membership is within reach," Stoltenberg said.

“Sweden's membership in NATO will make us all stronger and safer,” he added. (ILKHA)