Diksia.com - NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg announced that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to refer Sweden’s offer to Turkey’s parliament.
Turkish President Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Turkey had agreed to move forward after talks in Vilnius, Lithuania.
“I am pleased to announce this. “President Erdogan has agreed to forward the protocol on Sweden’s accession to the Grand National Assembly as soon as possible and to work with the assembly to ensure its ratification,” Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference at the NATO summit on Tuesday (07/11/2023). . ).
“This is a historic day,” he continued, quoted by Al Jazeera.
Jens Stoltenberg did not say when Erdogan would forward the document to the Turkish parliament, which would then have to vote on approval.
Meanwhile, Hungary has yet to vote for Sweden to join NATO.
Jens Stoltenberg declined a concrete answer to the fact that Sweden could officially become a member of NATO.
He said it was up to Turkey to make the announcement and would rather focus on the benefits of a “historic day”.
“I think we have to respect that each parliament has its own integrity and its own timetable. So I welcome the fact that the President has made it clear that he will work with Parliament to ensure ratification, but exactly when this should be announced by Parliament. Turkish Parliament,” said Jens Stoltenberg.
Sweden and Türkiye sign agreement
Turkey’s decision, Jens said, was the result of a year of negotiations.
A year later, Türkiye used this signal to block Sweden’s proposal to join NATO.
Earlier, in 2022, Turkey made several demands on Sweden as a condition for Turkey’s agreement to join NATO.
Including asking Sweden to extradite the PKK, a terrorist group that represents the Turkish opposition in Sweden.
Jens Stoltenberg said additional commitments were made at the meeting between Jens Stoltenberg, Erdogan and Ulf Kristersson.
Türkiye and Sweden agreed to continue counter-terrorism cooperation.
In addition, NATO will appoint a new Special Coordinator for the Counter-Terrorism Role.
“Sweden and Turkey have also agreed to strengthen economic cooperation,” Jens Stoltenberg said, according to CNN International.
Sweden will actively support efforts to revive Turkey’s accession to the European Union.
In response to the news, US President Joe Biden said he welcomed President Erdogan’s pledge to expedite Sweden’s ratification process.
“I stand ready to work with President Erdogan and Turkey to strengthen defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic space.”
“I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd NATO ally,” Biden said in a White House statement.
