Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to forward to parliament Sweden’s bid to join the NATO military alliance, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday, on the eve of a NATO summit in Vilnius.
“I’m glad to announce … that President Erdogan has agreed to forward the accession protocol for Sweden to the grand national assembly as soon as possible, and work closely with the assembly to ensure ratification,” Stoltenberg told a news conference.
Stoltenberg declined to give a date for when Sweden’s accession would be ratified by the Turkish parliament, the grand national assembly, which would decide on the exact timing.
Sweden and Finland applied to NATO
Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year, casting aside policies of military non-alignment that had lasted through the decades of the Cold War as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reframed security considerations.
Applications to the alliance must be approved by all NATO members and while Finland’s was given the go-ahead in April, Turkey and Hungary have held off on clearing Sweden’s bid.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks to the press after his meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, on the eve of a NATO summit, in Vilnius, Lithuania July 10, 2023. (credit: YVES HERMAN/REUTERS)Stockholm has been working hard at its bid ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius, together with the United States and its allies, urging Turkey to abandon its opposition.
Erdogan has said Sweden harbors members of militant groups, mainly supporters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), who he accuses of organizing demonstrations and financing terrorist groups, while anti-Turkish protests in Stockholm have also raised his ire.
Meanwhile, Sweden has said it has fulfilled all the demands agreed upon in negotiations with Turkey last year, including introducing a new bill that makes being a member of a terrorist organization illegal, and stressed freedom of speech is protected in its constitution.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff said on Thursday that Budapest would not block Sweden’s NATO membership ratification.
Biden welcomes Turkey backing Sweden’s bid to join NATO
US President Joe Biden on Monday welcomed Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan agreeing to back Sweden’s bid to join the NATO military alliance.
In a statement released by the White House, Biden added he was ready to work with Erdogan to enhance “defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area.”
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