25 foreign ministers from the 31 NATO countries are present in Oslo for a final gathering before the important NATO summit in Vilnius in July. The summit is described as informal, and it is expected that several important topics will be discussed, including Ukraine’s future. The Ukrainian authorities sent an application for NATO membership this autumn, and there is a certain amount of tension as to how NATO will respond to this. On his way into Oslo City Hall on Thursday morning, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg repeated that “Ukraine’s future is in NATO” – Moscow should not have veto power – Moscow should not have veto power against NATO expansion, all NATO members agree that the door is open to new members, said Stoltenberg, who again emphasized that “Ukraine’s future is in NATO”. At the NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008, it was opened for Ukraine to join NATO, but it was not implemented. – Has NATO changed its position on how you view a possible Ukrainian attack on Moscow? – We have the same position as before the war. Ukraine has the right to defend itself. Russia’s attack on Ukraine is a violation of international law. There is no doubt about what this is, replied Stoltenberg. He says that the most important thing now is to ensure that Ukraine survives as an independent nation. – When the war ends, we must ensure that history does not repeat itself. Therefore, we must put in place a framework that provides guarantees for Ukraine’s security after the war, says Stoltenberg. Will travel to Turkey to meet Erdogan Stoltenberg also said he will travel to Turkey to talk to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the Swedish application for NATO membership. Turkey has so far blocked Sweden’s path into NATO. – It is in the interest of all of NATO to get Sweden in as a member as soon as possible, said Stoltenberg. He welcomes the new laws in Sweden, and also welcomes the strengthened cooperation between Turkey and Sweden. – I am sure that Hungary will also ratify a Swedish membership, said the general secretary. – Today I expect to be able to deliver a clear message to the entire alliance that Sweden has fulfilled all its obligations to become a member, said Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström on his way into Oslo City Hall. Billström emphasized that Sweden has introduced new terrorism legislation as of today, 1 June. This is partly a response to Turkey’s counterclaim to let Sweden into the defense alliance. – It is time for Turkey and Hungary to start the ratification of Sweden’s application for NATO membership, said the Swedish foreign minister. He expressed gratitude for the support he has received in recent days from foreign ministers from several NATO countries, and denied that they had become discouraged in the more than a year-long process. – This was never a sprint, it has been a marathon. And now we see the end of it, said Billström. Blinken on a visit to Oslo: Thanks Norway for the friendship Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt was also asked about Sweden’s future in the alliance. – How disappointed are you that you cannot decide at this meeting that Sweden will be allowed to join? – This is an informal meeting, so we do not have those expectations for the meeting, but I expect Sweden to become a member soon. It means a lot for security in the region, said the Norwegian foreign minister. NATO’s 31 member countries From its formation in 1949: Belgium Canada Denmark France Iceland Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Portugal United Kingdom USA From 1952: From 1955: From 1982: From 1990: Germany (after east and west became one country) From 1999: From 2004 : Bulgaria Estonia Latvia Lithuania Romania Slovakia Slovenia From 2009: From 2017: From 2020: From 2023: The NATO meeting has led to extensive security measures around City Hall and in parts of Oslo city centre.
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