The Turkish leader had linked his support for this candidacy to his country’s accession negotiations to the European Union, which have been at a standstill for several years.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to support Sweden’s NATO membership, which he had been blocking for more than a year, Jens Stoltenberg announced on Monday July 10. The Secretary General of the Alliance welcomed “a historic day”. “I am happy to announce that President Erdogan has agreed to forward Sweden’s accession protocol” in the Turkish Parliament “as soon as possible and to work with the assembly to secure ratification”said the official after a meeting with the Turkish leader and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, on the eve of a NATO summit in Vilnius (Lithuania).
This comes as the Turkish leader had linked his support for this candidacy to his country’s accession negotiations to the European Union, which have been stalled for several years. In the evening of Monday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the President of the European Council Charles Michel thus agreed to “revitalize” relations between Turkey and the EU, welcomed the latter after their meeting in Vilnius. “Good meeting with President Erdogan at the NATO summit”wrote Charles Michel on Twitter. “We explored opportunities for our cooperation to become important again and to reinvigorate our relationship”he added.
An agreement hailed by several countries
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson hailed “a hello” for his country and a “very big step”. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also welcomed the “good news from Vilnius”. Emphasizing that he was “eager” to welcome Sweden as NATO’s 32nd member state, US President Joe Biden in turn said he was ready to work with President Erdogan “strengthening defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area”.