Article: During a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken encouraged Ankara to support Sweden's bid to join NATO, according to a

spokesperson from the State Department. Turkey has expressed concerns about Sweden's membership due to security reasons, but other NATO members are hopeful that Sweden will be able to join before the mid-July summit in Vilnius.

The meeting between Blinken and Fidan took place on the sidelines of the Ukraine Recovery Summit in London, where Blinken emphasized the significance of NATO unity during this critical period, as stated by spokesperson Matthew Miller. Miller also mentioned that Blinken "encouraged Turkey's support for Sweden to join the NATO Alliance now."

In addition to discussing Sweden's NATO bid, Blinken acknowledged and appreciated Ankara's support for Kyiv, as well as their efforts regarding the grain deal, which enables Ukrainian exports from Black Sea ports.

Last month, Blinken called on Turkey to promptly finalize Sweden's accession to the alliance. Sweden, along with Finland, decided to reverse their long-standing military non-alignment last year and applied for NATO membership following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While Finland successfully joined NATO in April, Turkey remains a hurdle for Sweden's membership aspirations. Photo by  European Commission, Wikimedia commons.