Washington, Dec 5 (EFE).- The United States signed a defense cooperation agreement with Sweden on Tuesday amid growing pressure to obtain a green light from Turkey and Hungary to the Nordic country’s entry into NATO.<\/p>
The agreement, which was signed by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Swedish Defense Minister P\u00e5l Jonson in Washington, seeks to strengthen ties between both countries.<\/p>
The agreement will \u201cempower our two countries to expand our close security partnership, enhance our cooperation in multilateral security operations, and strengthen transatlantic security together,\u201d a US defense department spokesperson said in a statement.<\/p>
“Sweden is a strong, capable defense partner that champions NATO\u2019s values, and will further strengthen the Alliance once its NATO accession is completed,” the statement added.<\/p>
Sweden\u2019s entry into NATO will improve the alliance\u2019s ability to \u201crespond to security challenges in the Euro-Atlantic area,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>
Turkey and Hungary are the only member countries that have yet to ratify Sweden\u2019s entry into NATO.<\/p>
Last week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told Hungarian media that he expected the two countries to ratify Sweden’s accession to NATO “without further delay.”<\/p>
While Ankara has accused Sweden of not doing enough against the activities of alleged Kurdish terrorists on its territory, Hungary slams “unfair” criticism by Swedish politicians against the state of democracy in the country. EFE<\/p>
aaca\/pd<\/p>
\u200b<\/p>
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"