NATO presses Turkey to approve Sweden's membership, eyes Ukraine security plan as summit looms
NATO is ramping up pressure on member nation Turkey to drop its objections to Sweden's membership OSLO, Norway -- NATO on Thursday ramped up pressure on member nation Turkey to drop its objections to Sweden's membership as the military organization seeks to deal with the issue by the time U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts meet next month. The 31-member alliance is also looking at boosting Ukraine’s non-member status in NATO and preparing a framework for security commitments that it can offer once the war with Russia is over. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO wants to bring Sweden into the fold by the time allied leaders meet in Lithuania on July 11-12. The allies also hope to make progress on long-term funding and the security plan for Ukraine at the same event, Stoltenberg said. He said the allies continue to agree that Ukraine will become a NATO member one day but that in the meantime the alliance should provide it with security commitments and substa...