Recep Tayyip Erdogan finally said yes. Pressed by the allies, the Turkish president gave his agreement on Monday, July 10 to Sweden’s accession to NATO. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson hailed “a good day” for his country. “We are taking a big step towards the formal ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership,” he told a news conference in Vilnius, where a crucial Atlantic Alliance summit is taking place. .
Announced by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Turkey’s deal allows allies to show their unity at the start of a summit centered on support for Ukraine, nearly 18 months after the start of the Russian offensive. This is “a historic step that benefits the security of all NATO allies at this critical time. It makes us all stronger and safer,” said Jens Stoltenberg.
Mr Erdogan, re-elected at the end of May for five years, agreed to forward Sweden’s accession protocol to the Turkish Parliament “as soon as possible”. At the beginning of the day, however, the Turkish President had cast a chill over the prospects for a rapid settlement of this question, by linking Sweden’s membership of NATO to that, stalled for several years, of the Turkey to the European Union (EU).
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A meeting with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, had hinted at an improvement, the latter evoking, in a tweet, their common desire to “revitalize” Turkey-EU relations. Stoltenberg also said that Sweden had agreed to “actively support” efforts to reinvigorate Turkey’s EU accession process and contribute to the modernization of the EU-Turkey customs union agreement. and visa liberalisation.
It is now Hungary’s turn to approve Sweden’s NATO membership, but its prime minister, Viktor Orban, has hinted he may do so quickly.
Stressing that he was “looking forward” to welcoming Sweden as NATO’s 32nd member state, US President Joe Biden said he was ready to work with President Erdogan “to strengthen defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area”.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock welcomed the “good news from Vilnius”. The head of French diplomacy, Catherine Colonna, said in a tweet that she hoped that the ratification of Sweden’s accession protocol “will take place as soon as possible”.
