NATO chief: Sweden has done what’s needed to join alliance

STOCKHOLM (AP) — NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg says it’s time for Sweden to join the military alliance because it has done what’s necessary to secure Turkey’s approval for membership. In an interview with Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet published Monday, Stoltenberg said that “time has come to bring to an end the ratification process for Sweden.” Turkey has held up the process while pressing the two Nordic countries to crack down on groups it considers to be terrorist organizations and to extradite people suspected of terror-related crimes. Last month, Turkey said that Sweden was not even “halfway” through fulfilling the commitments it made to secure Ankara’s support. In May, Sweden and neighboring Finland applied to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.