NATO chief makes last-ditch bid to bring Sweden into the fold before next month’s summit

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is calling an urgent meeting in coming days to try to overcome Turkish objections to Sweden joining the military organization. It’s a last-ditch effort to have the Nordic country standing alongside the allies at a major NATO summit next month. NATO requires the unanimous approval of all members to expand. Turkey accuses Sweden of being too lenient toward groups that Ankara says pose a security threat, including militant Kurdish groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt. Stoltenberg says he’s held fresh talks on Sweden’s candidacy with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He said Monday that “we agreed to convene a high-level meeting in Brussels before the summit” in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, on July 11.