"Turkey believes that the alliance's expansion is the key to lasting peace and stability in the world," he said in an article for the Middle East Eye news website on Saturday, TASS reported.
The official said that Ankara has supported the integration of Northern Macedonia into NATO and backs Bosnia and Herzegovina’s accession to the alliance.
Altun said Ankara's support for NATO enlargement is not aimed against a certain country, but is aimed at turning the alliance into a comprehensive security organization that will help achieve stability. The official said that before the NATO summit in Vilnius, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed Ankara's support for Ukraine's membership in the alliance.
Earlier, Turkey supported Sweden's bid to join NATO. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Erdogan, in a meeting under the auspices of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on July 10, reached an agreement under which Turkey will begin the process of ratifying Sweden's application for NATO membership.
It includes six points stating that Sweden has made the necessary changes to its legislation and has significantly stepped up the fight against terrorist manifestations of the Kurdistan Workers' Party over the past year, as well as resumed military exports to Turkey. These agreements were reached during last year's NATO summit in Madrid.