Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, shakes hands with Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, right, as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg looks on before a pre-summit meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 10, 2023. (Yves Herman, pool via AP)
A security guard outside the venue where the NATO summit will take place in a couple of days in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Sunday, July 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis) Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
During negotiations in the Lithuanian capital, where the leaders of NATO countries will hold a two-day summit meeting starting Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to present the Nordic country’s accession protocol to the Parliament “as soon as possible,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
“It is a historic day because we have a clear commitment from Turkey to present the ratification documents to the Grand National Assembly, and also to work with the assembly to ensure ratification,” Stoltenberg told reporters after a series of meetings.
Sweden’s entry into NATO had been in doubt due to objections raised by Turkey since last year. The Turkish parliament’s ratification of the accession protocol is one of the last steps in the process.
Stoltenberg made the announcement after meeting Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on the eve of the NATO summit in Vilnius.
“Today we took a very important step on the road to completing ratification,” Kristersson said.
Erdogan did not comment on the matter.
It is unknown when the Nordic country’s entry would be approved, but the agreement seems to have taken the issue off the agenda of the summit, which was intended to focus on the war in Ukraine and on Kiev’s aspirations to also join the alliance.
Through a statement, US President Joe Biden applauded the agreement and said he will work with Turkey “to improve defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area. I am looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd NATO ally,” he said.
In exchange for Turkey’s help with NATO, Sweden has agreed to help unlock Turkey’s progress in joining the European Union, a process that has been on hold since 2018.
Stoltenberg said that Turkey’s relationship with the European Union “is not an issue for NATO, it is an issue for the European Union.” But he told reporters that “what Sweden agreed to on this day as an EU member was to actively support efforts to revitalize Turkey’s EU accession process.”
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Fraser reported from Ankara. Associated Press writer Chris Megerian in London contributed to this report.
FUENTE: Associated Press
