NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is to arrive in Türkiye on Thursday for a three-day visit to discuss the grain initiative as well as the ongoing NATO accession process for Sweden and Finland.
Stoltenberg will be received by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and meet Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar as well as senior Turkish officials, NATO said in a written statement.
The talks are expected to be centered around the extension of the Istanbul grain deal and the NATO membership bids of Sweden and Finland, whom Türkiye has accused of supporting terrorist groups.
Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO in June, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine.
However, Türkiye voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.
For Sweden and Finland to become NATO members, their applications must be ratified by all 30 NATO members. So far, 28 have already done so – only Türkiye and Hungary have votes still pending.
A trilateral memorandum at the NATO Madrid summit signed among the countries in June stipulates that Finland and Sweden will not provide support to terrorist group PKK's Syrian offshoots, the YPG and the PYD, or the Gülenist Terrorist Group (FETÖ) – the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Türkiye.
Sweden and Finland agreed earlier this summer to assure Türkiye of their support against security risks.
Most recently, Sweden’s newly elected Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that the Swedish government will redouble efforts to implement the trilateral memorandum signed with Türkiye.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Stoltenberg, Kristersson said: “The trilateral memorandum has established new platforms for cooperation in the fight against terrorism between Sweden and Türkiye. Counterterrorism is a priority for Sweden ahead of and after our accession to NATO.”
The Swedish premier is expected to visit Ankara on Nov. 8 to discuss bilateral ties in one of his first foreign visits abroad after coming to office.
