Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) meets with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Ankara on February 16
Metropolis Desk-
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, has decided to support Sweden’s application to join NATO after initially opposing it for a year due to security concerns in his country. Erdogan agreed to send Sweden’s membership application to the Turkish parliament, according to a Monday statement from NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister of Sweden, and Erdogan held meetings in Vilnius, Lithuania, and according to Stoltenberg, Turkey agreed to proceed.
“I’m excited to announce… To achieve ratification, President Erdogan has promised to send the Swedish accession protocol to the Grand National Assembly as quickly as possible, according to Stoltenberg. This is a historic day.”
All of the military alliance’s members must consent to join. Since last year, Turkey has prevented Sweden from joining NATO, claiming that Stockholm is sheltering Kurdish activists whom Ankara views as “terrorists.”
Following the three-way discussions, a joint statement indicated that Sweden and Turkey would strengthen their trade ties and cooperate closely on “counterterrorism coordination”.
Erdogan raised the stakes earlier on Monday when he demanded that Sweden’s accession to NATO be contingent on the European Union reviving Turkey’s dormant membership request.
The sudden declaration by Erdogan just before he left for a NATO conference in the capital of Lithuania raised further doubts about Sweden’s attempt to join the alliance as its 32nd country.
Erdogan made the first comparison between Sweden’s aspirations to join NATO and his nation’s desire to join the EU.
Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul, “Turkey has been knocking on the door of the European Union for more than 50 years, and practically all of the NATO members are now members of the European Union.
“I’m calling on these nations who have kept Turkey standing in line at the EU’s doors for more than 50 years. Come help pave the way for Turkey’s admission to the EU. We’ll open doors for Sweden as we did for Finland once you open them for Turkey.”
About Sweden’s NATO application, US President Joe Biden commended “the commitment” of Erdogan.
“I am willing to collaborate with President Erdogan and Turkey to strengthen defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic region. As our 32nd NATO ally, I am eager to welcome Prime Minister Kristersson and Sweden. And I appreciate Secretary General Stoltenberg’s unwavering leadership,” the White House stated in a statement.
Elina Valtonen, the foreign minister of Finland, told Al Jazeera that her nation, which joined the organization in April, had pushed for the approval of its neighbor’s application as well.
Without Sweden, our membership is incomplete, according to Valtonen.
Due to growing concerns about Russian aggression in northern Europe following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland, and its neighboring country, Sweden, submitted applications in May 2022.
Source- Al Jazeera
