All allies agree that NATO’s door is open to new members, Stoltenberg told reporters before an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Oslo. “It is not Moscow’s business to have a veto against NATO expansion.”
“This is why we have increased our major presence in the eastern lines in NATO territory,” he said. Finland’s accession to the alliance earlier this month marked a major shift in the security landscape in northeastern Europe, doubling NATO’s border with Russia.
Sweden also applied to join the bloc shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion began, with the support of an overwhelming majority of NATO members – but its membership has so far been blocked by Turkey and Hungary.
Turkey has accused Sweden of harboring members of terrorist groups, which Stockholm denies, while Hungary has claimed that Sweden has acted hostile towards its government.
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Stoltenberg said on Thursday that he would soon travel to the Turkish capital Ankara to discuss Sweden’s accession to NATO, but did not specify when. “My message is that Swedish accession, full NATO accession, is good for Sweden, it is good for the Nordic countries, it is good for Norway, for the Baltic region, but it is also good for NATO,” he said.
