Sweden moves closer to NATO membership after a deal with the Turkish president
Sweden's membership of NATO took a big step forward on Monday after Turkey agreed to remove one of the last major roadblocks in return for help in reviving Turkey's own chances of joining the European Union. At talks in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, where U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts are meeting for a two-day summit starting Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan committed to put the Nordic country's accession protocol before Parliament «as soon as possible,» the head of NATO said.
«This is an historic day because we have a clear commitment by Turkey to submit the ratification documents to the Grand National Assembly, and to work also with the assembly to ensure ratification,» NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters after a series of high-stakes meetings. Sweden's NATO accession has been held up by objections from Turkey since last year. The Turkish parliament's ratification of the accession protocol is one of the last steps in the process.
Stoltenberg made the announcement after talks with Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on the eve of a NATO summit in Lithuania. «Today we took a very big step on the road toward complete ratification,» Kristersson said. There was no comment from Erdogan on the move, which many saw as linked in part to Turkey's demands on other issues, particularly Erdogan's desire for support for European Union membership from European leaders and for F-16 fighter jets from the United States.
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