/Pogled.info/ Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to support Sweden’s bid for NATO and will soon submit it to the Turkish parliament, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said after a trilateral meeting with Turkish and Swedish leaders in Vilnius, Lithuania, in ahead of Tuesday’s critical NATO summit.
Stoltenberg told reporters that Erdogan had agreed to send Sweden’s NATO accession protocol to the Turkish parliament “as soon as possible,” without specifying a date.
“I am pleased to announce that President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan has agreed to send Sweden’s accession protocol to the Grand National Assembly as soon as possible and to work closely with the assembly to ensure ratification,” Stoltenberg said.
“Sweden agreed today, as an EU member, to also actively support efforts to renew Turkey’s EU accession process, as well as help modernize EU-Turkey customs unions and visa liberalization,” he said.
The trilateral meeting agreed to work to lift sanctions and remove barriers to trade and defense investment between the allies.
Stockholm has assured Turkey that it will not support the terrorist organizations PKK/YPG and the Gulenist Terrorist Group (FETO) after its NATO membership and that a new bilateral security mechanism will be established between Ankara and Stockholm.
NATO will also create a special counter-terrorism coordinator for the first time in the bloc’s history, Stoltenberg said.
He noted that Hungary has made it clear that it will not be the last to ratify Stockholm’s bid for NATO and will soon approve it.
Turkey has delayed its final approval of Sweden’s NATO membership, accusing the country of being too lenient on anti-Islamic demonstrations as well as terrorist organizations.
Although Sweden’s prime minister said on Friday that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had assured him that Budapest would not delay the Nordic country’s accession to NATO, Hungary’s parliament did not put ratification on its agenda this week ahead of the summer recess.
Parliament will hold its last session on Friday. The ratification process has been blocked in parliament since last July.
Meanwhile, a senior Turkish official said Turkey had received “full support” for the EU accession process, including the lifting of sanctions and visa liberalization.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson has confirmed that his country will establish a new bilateral security dialogue with Turkey for cooperation.
The US and UK welcome Turkey’s decision
Turkey’s decision to support Sweden’s NATO bid was also welcomed by the leaders of the US and the UK.
US President Joe Biden said he was ready to work with Erdogan and Turkey “to improve defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area”.
“I am ready to work with President Erdogan and Turkey to improve defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area,” said the US head of state.
“I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister (Ulf) Kristerson and Sweden as our 32nd NATO ally. And I thank (NATO) Secretary General (Jens) Stoltenberg for his steadfast leadership,” he added.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken echoed Biden’s statement.
“We welcome Turkey’s commitment to deliver Sweden’s NATO accession protocols to the Turkish parliament and work with the parliament to secure ratification,” Blinken said on Twitter.
“Making Sweden our 32nd NATO ally will strengthen the Alliance @NATO and contribute to European security,” he wrote.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called Turkey’s decision to pass on Sweden’s accession to NATO “a historic moment for NATO that makes us safer.”
Translation: SM
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