Stoltenberg To Visit Turkey 3-4 June For Talks w/Erdoǧan

NATO releases a short statement confirming Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to visit Turkey over the weekend. "...On Saturday 03 June, he will attend the inauguration ceremony for the President of the Republic of Türkiye, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoǧan, in Ankara. The Secretary General will also have bilateral meetings with President Erdoǧan and with senior Turkish officials."

• Stoltenberg is expected to push for the Turkish gov't to ratify Sweden's NATO accession as soon as possible. The Turkish presidential election was seen as a major block on Sweden's progress towards full membership. Erdoǧan's hard line stance in demanding the extradition of a number of Kurds in Sweden that Ankara claims are terrorists was seen to need to remain in place to shore up his support among nationalist voters in the election.
• However, with a fraught campaign out of the way there are hopes at NATO HQ that the Turkish gov't could be more amenable to Sweden's entry to NATO. Moreover, there remains the prospect of Turkey being allowed to purchase US F-16 fighter jets, something observers have seen as a potential deal-maker for Ankara to ensure Sweden's accession at the 11 July NATO summit.