Stoltenberg described this as a “historic step”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to support Sweden’s bid for NATO membership, the head of the military alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, said.
Stoltenberg told a briefing that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would submit Sweden’s bid to the Turkish parliament and “ensure ratification”, the BBC reported.
The meeting between the Turkish president, the Swedish prime minister and Jens Stoltenberg, which took place on Monday in Vilnius, was behind closed doors. There was no briefing after the meeting and none of the three commented.
Before the meeting, Erdogan hinted that Turkey would support Sweden if the EU resumed membership talks with Ankara.
Jens Stoltenberg hosted the talks between Erdogan and Christerson in Vilnius. After the meeting he commented:
“President Erdogan has agreed to send Sweden’s accession protocol to the Turkish parliament as soon as possible and to work closely with the assembly to secure ratification.”
Stoltenberg described this as a “historic step” but stressed that no “clear date” could be given as to when Sweden would be able to join the military alliance.
Turkey refused to approve Sweden’s NATO bid for a long time. Ankara has been pushing for Stockholm to tighten its anti-terror laws and extradite people considered by Turkish authorities to be terrorists.
Relations between the two countries have been further strained in recent weeks following a demonstration in which a copy of the Koran was burned in Stockholm.
2023-07-10 19:47:00
#Erdogan #Sweden #NATO
