Blinken starts "putting pressure" on Turkey

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan yesterday, encouraging Turkey’s support for Sweden to join the NATO military alliance, the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

“Secretary Blinken stressed the importance of NATO unity in such a critical time and encouraged Türkiye’s support for Sweden to join the NATO Alliance now,” the statement reads.

The sides also discussed the importance of extending the Black Sea Grain initiative.

Sweden, Turkey and NATO will meet in Brussels on July 6 to try to find a solution before the July 11-12 summit.