NATO looks to ‘historic’ Madrid summit, with Sweden, Finland

By JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says next month’s NATO summit in Madrid will be a “historic” opportunity to strengthen the alliance in the face of Russian aggression against Ukraine. Stoltenberg spoke Monday at a gala in Madrid to mark Spain’s 40th year as a NATO member. He said he looked forward to welcoming Sweden and Finland at the summit hosted by Spain’s capital on June 29-30. But Turkey, which has the second-largest force in NATO after the U.S., is reluctant to open the doors to Sweden and Finland. Stoltenberg did not address that significant obstacle. He says “the Madrid summit is an important opportunity to reaffirm our NATO values.”