Spain is confident Sweden and Turkey will break an impasse for the Nordic country to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said.
“Turkey doesn’t oppose the accession of Sweden,” Albares said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “There are some security concerns that must be met.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan downplayed the chances earlier on Tuesday of a significant breakthrough at talks meant to pave the way for Sweden to join NATO more than a year after its application. A row over the burning of a Koran in Stockholm have clouded talks planned for Thursday that come ahead of a high-stakes summit of leaders of the alliance on July 11 and 12.
For NATO, northern enlargement would boost its presence in the Arctic and give it more clout in the Baltic Sea. Sweden’s entry is particularly important for the alliance’s newest member, Finland, to secure supply routes and bring depth to its defenses.
