Before heading to Lithuania for the
Vilnius NATO summit, Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stressed in his comments to reporters: "
Sweden's
NATO membership process will depend on the fulfilment of issues mentioned in the tripartite agreement."
Erdoğan added that Ankara desires the fulfilment of all promises made regarding the
fight against terrorism.
Expressing his support for NATO's open-door policy, Erdoğan has announced that he will hold a three-way meeting with the
NATO Secretary General and the Prime Minister of
Sweden.
'At the
NATO summit, I will repeat our call to countries that impose
restrictions on Türkiye to quickly turn from this mistake,' Erdoğan underlined in his remarks.
Erdoğan also pointed out that achieving a just and lasting peace in the conflict between
Russia and Ukraine will facilitate Ukraine's NATO membership process.
Erdoğan expects the
European Union to open a path for Türkiye's
full membership, enabling Ankara to pave the way for Sweden's
NATO accession.
During the two-day
NATO summit in Vilnius, the leaders will address ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, its challenges to NATO, and steps to strengthen the military alliance's defense and deterrence. Sweden's bid to join NATO bid will be also on the agenda.
Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership soon after Russia launched war on Ukraine in February 2022.
Although Türkiye approved
Finland's membership to NATO, it is waiting for Sweden to fulfill its commitments under the deal.
Previously, Erdoğan underlined that
Sweden cannot hope to join NATO as long as it gives shelter and a green light for terrorists and supporters of terrorists.
To join NATO,
Sweden needs the approval of all of its current members, including
Türkiye, which has been in the alliance for over 70 years and boasts its second-largest army.
