An aircraft carrying Sweden’s foreign minister and justice minister has returned to Stockholm after suffering a technical problem while on the way to Turkiye, Reuters has reported. A key meeting will thus be postponed, Swedish officials said on Wednesday.
The crew and passengers were not in any immediate danger, said the foreign ministry in Stockholm. A new date will be set for the meeting.
Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard and Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer had been due to hold their first meeting with Turkish officials addressing a security pact agreed to ensure Ankara’s approval of Stockholm’s NATO membership bid.
Turkiye approved Sweden’s bid to join the military alliance in January after a more than year-long delay over concerns about Sweden’s stance on groups and individuals that Ankara has designated as terrorists, and over an arms embargo that Stockholm later lifted.