NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says representatives from Turkey and Sweden will meet in just over a week to try to bridge their differences about the Nordic country joining the military alliance. Stoltenberg made no breakthrough on the membership impasse during meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other senior Turkish officials over the weekend. NATO wants to bring Sweden into the fold by the time allied leaders meet in Lithuania on July 11-12. Turkey and Hungary have yet to endorse the move. All 31 member countries must ratify a candidate’s accession protocol. Stoltenberg said Sunday that he and Erdogan agreed that Turkish and Swedish officials “should meet again in the week starting on June 12."
