Sweden
Czech Parliament approves NATO's northern expansion
The Chamber of Deputies voted nearly unanimously to endorse the accession of the two Nordic countries in an overnight session that ended early Saturday, reports dpa news agency. The Senate voted in favour earlier this month. The last step for ratification in the Czech Republic is the signature of President Milos Zeman.
Swedish Foreign Minister confirms NATO talks with Turkey on Friday
"The issue is how we should follow up on the agreement that Turkey, Sweden and Finland reached during the NATO summit in Madrid, which was a precondition for Turkey to agree to Sweden's and Finland's requests," Linde told broadcaster SVT on Wednesday. New members must be unanimously approved but Turkey has blocked Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO.
US Senate votes to approve Sweden, Finland joining NATO
The single dissenting vote came from Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who argued that there should be less focus on security in Europe and much more on the threat from China, dpa news agency reported. US President Joe Biden has strongly backed the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, and referred the matter to the Senate for consideration in July.
Turkey to freeze Finland, Sweden's NATO bids if they fail to keep promises: Prez
NATO's 30 member states signed accession protocols for Sweden and Finland in early July, starting the process to admit the two Nordic countries into the military alliance, Xinhua news agency reported. The next step is for the parliaments of all NATO members to ratify their accession to NATO. Finland and Sweden's NATO bid was initially blocked by Turkey, which accused them of "supporting" anti-Turkish terrorist groups.
Turkey renews extradition requests with Sweden, Finland after NATO membership deal
"Today we have renewed some requests that were rejected before and reminded them of some requests that were not responded to," Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said in a televised interview on Haber Global broadcaster. Bozdag said the two countries previously did not respond to any of Turkey's extradition requests for "terror suspects" although they were in line with both the international and bilateral agreements.
Turkey threatens not to approve Sweden's NATO bid if 'terrorists' not extradited
"Supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Syria's Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) terrorist organisations and asking us for support for NATO membership is, to say the least, inconsistent. We asked Sweden to return 30 terrorists, but they refused to do so," Erdogan added on Wednesday while addressing his party's lawmakers.
Sweden, Finland to submit NATO applications today
NATO membership will strengthen security in Sweden as well as in the Baltic Sea region, she added at a press conference on Tuesday with visiting Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. Submitting joint applications with Finland "means that we can contribute to security in northern Europe," Andersson said.
Russia warns Sweden and Finland against joining NATO
Maria Zakharova held a press conference and reflected on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the intentions of Russia going forward. A clip of her speech has begun to go viral on social media as she appears to issue a threat aimed at Sweden and Finland, saying it would have "serious military-political repercussions."
Sweden elects 1st female PM
Andersson is scheduled to take office after a meeting with King Carl XVI Gustaf on Friday, giving her less than 10 months to prepare for the country's 2022 general elections, reports Xinhua news agency. Sweden is the only Nordic country never to have elected a woman as national leader before.
Swedish PM Stefan Lofven to step down in November
The unexpected announcement by the leader of the Social Democratic Party was made on Sunday during his annual summer speech, reports xinhua news agency. "I have been party chairman for 10 years, and Prime Minister for seven," he was quoted by local media as saying,"But everything has an end, and I want to give my successor the very best conditions," Lofven added.
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