On Monday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Turkey had agreed to support Sweden’s request to join the military alliance.
“Glad to announce that after the meeting I hosted with President Erdogan and the Swedish prime minister (Ulf Kristersson), President Erdogan has agreed to forward Sweden’s accession protocol to the Grand National Assembly ASAP and ensure ratification,” Stoltenberg wrote on his Twitter account, after a meeting in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.
This is a historic step which makes all NATO Allies stronger and safer,” he added.
Earlier on Monday, Erdogan said his country would support Sweden’s bid to join NATO if the European Union begins membership talks with Turkey. But Brussels quickly repeated that joining NATO and joining the European Union are two very different measures.
Erdogan had delayed Sweden’s accession to NATO, noting that Stockholm had failed to suppress Kurdish militants, which Ankara considers a threat to Turkish national security.
Turkey’s application to join the EU has been put on hold by what Brussels sees as Ankara’s democratic backsliding on judicial reforms.
