Jens Stoltenberg discussed the Middle East and Sweden's accession to NATO with the Turkish president
The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, discussed yesterday with the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the situation in the Middle East and the ratification of Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic alliance, which Ankara has not yet approved, just like Hungary, reports EFE and Agerpres.
"I talked with President Erdogan about terrorism and the situation in the Middle East. We agree that we must fight terrorism and protect civilians. I welcome the fact that emergency aid is now arriving in Gaza. We also talked about Sweden's accession to NATO", explained Jens Stoltenberg in a message on X.
Spoke with President @RTErdogan about terrorism and the situation in the Middle East. We agree that terrorism must be fought & civilians protected. I welcome that emergency aid is now reaching Gaza. We also addressed Sweden’s #NATO accession.
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) October 21, 2023
The conversation took place on the same day that the Rafah border crossing, which connects Egypt's northern Sinai Peninsula with the Gaza Strip, was opened to allow humanitarian aid shipments into the Palestinian enclave.
The discussion also coincided with the international summit in Egypt organized by the country's president, Abdel Fattah al Sisi, and attended by leaders from around the world to address the armed conflict between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the "Palestinian issue ".
Among those present were UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah II.
On the other hand, Turkey and Hungary are the only two NATO countries that have not yet completed the ratification of Sweden's entry into the alliance. Furthermore, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on September 25 that his country was "in no hurry".
