British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to clear the way to have Sweden's bid to ascend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ratified, the former's spokesperson told the media on Friday.
The No. 10 thus reiterated Foreign Secretary James Cleverly's recent statement when he promised the United Kingdom would back Sweden's candidacy for the alliance. Meanwhile, the United States also expressed its hope that the Scandinavian country will join NATO at its upcoming summit, which will take place in Vilnius on July 11 and 12.
Earlier this week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg remarked that the issue of Sweden's accession can be solved during the summit. Erdogan, however, insisted that Turkey cannot give its consent to the bid if Stockholm does not abandon its alleged support for terrorist groups.