President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the press conference at Atatürk Airport before departing for the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. He made the following statements:
"We will soon be heading to Vilnius to attend the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit, which will commence tomorrow. Our summit comes at a time when the conflict in Ukraine is having an increasingly negative impact on global stability and security. In this critical period, we will engage in important discussions regarding the defense and security of NATO's geography.
We will review the decisions made at the Madrid Summit aimed at strengthening the alliance's deterrence and defense structure, as well as supporting partners, particularly Ukraine. In this context, we will hold the inaugural meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, which symbolizes NATO's and its allies' support for Ukraine.
We believe that achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine as soon as possible will facilitate its NATO membership process. At the Madrid Summit, we decided to update the alliance's defense plans, and their approval is expected at the Vilnius Summit. Throughout this process, despite the challenges we have faced, we have acted in solidarity with the alliance.
In Vilnius, we will assess the progress made in NATO's efforts to combat terrorism and the renewal of the commitment to allocate a minimum of 2 percent of GDP to defense. However, we also observe that there are constraints and limitations when it comes to increasing defense expenditures.
Türkiye has consistently supported NATO's open-door policy. While North Macedonia has been awaiting membership for 16 years due to the name issue, we have always expressed our support for this policy. A roadmap was prepared last year with the tripartite agreement signed in Madrid regarding the membership applications of Sweden and Finland.
Finland, acting in line with its commitments, officially became a member of the alliance in April. As for Sweden, the process is ongoing. Our relevant institutions maintain transparent and well-intentioned contacts with their Swedish counterparts.
Tonight, I will hold a tripartite meeting with the Secretary-General and the Swedish Prime Minister. The progress of Sweden's membership process in NATO depends on fulfilling the issues outlined in the tripartite agreement.
Türkiye has been waiting at the doors of the European Union for over 50 years. Almost all NATO member states are also members of the European Union. I call upon those countries that have kept Türkiye waiting for more than 50 years at the gates of the European Union, and I will reiterate this call in Vilnius. Let us pave the way for Türkiye's accession to the European Union first, and then we can pave the way for Sweden, just as we did for Finland."
