By KARL RITTER and SUZAN FRASER (Associated Press)
VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — URGENT: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to ship Sweden’s NATO accession protocol to the Turkish Parliament “as soon as possible.”
Stoltenberg made the announcement after talks with Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on the eve of a NATO summit in Lithuania.
Sweden’s NATO accession has been held up by objections from Turkey since final yr.
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Earlier, President Erdogan on Monday launched a brand new situation for approving Sweden’s membership in NATO, calling on European international locations to “open the way” for Turkey to affix the European Union.
The shock announcement by Erdogan earlier than departing for a NATO summit in Lithuania’s capital added new uncertainty to Sweden’s bid to develop into the alliance’s thirty second member, which Turkey initially blocked by saying Sweden was too smooth on Kurdish militants and different teams that Ankara considers safety threats.
It was the primary time that Erdogan linked his nation’s ambition to affix the EU with Sweden’s efforts to develop into a NATO member.
“Turkey has been waiting at the door of the European Union for over 50 years now, and almost all of the NATO member countries are now members of the European Union,” Erdogan instructed reporters in Istanbul. “I am making this call to these countries that have kept Turkey waiting at the gates of the European Union for more than 50 years.”
“Come and open the way for Turkey’s membership in the European Union. When you pave the way for Turkey, we’ll pave the way for Sweden as we did for Finland,” he added.
Earlier, Erdogan’s workplace mentioned he instructed U.S. President Joe Biden throughout a phone name Sunday that Turkey needed a “clear and strong” message of help for Turkey’s EU ambitions from the NATO leaders. The White House readout of the Biden-Erdogan name didn’t point out the problem of Turkish EU membership.
Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson met later Monday after they arrived in Vilnius, the place NATO leaders will meet over the subsequent two days to debate a bunch of points together with NATO’s future relations with Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky will be part of them in individual on Wednesday.
Erdogan was additionally attributable to meet EU Council President Charles Michel late Monday.
EU Commission spokesperson Dana Spinant mentioned that “you cannot link the two processes in regards to Turkey.”
Turkey is a candidate to affix the EU, however democratic backsliding throughout Erdogan’s presidency, disputes with EU-member Cyprus and different points have held up the nation’s progress towards admission within the 27-nation bloc.
However, as a member of NATO, Erdogan’s authorities has postponed ratifying Sweden’s accession to the alliance, saying the administration in Stockholm must do extra to crack down on Kurdish militants and different teams. A sequence of anti-Turkey and anti-Islam protests in Sweden’s capital raised doubts that an settlement to fulfill Turkey’s calls for could possibly be reached earlier than the NATO summit.
Turkey’s delays on Sweden’s accession have irritated different NATO allies together with the United States. Biden’s nationwide safety adviser, Jake Sullivan, confirmed Sunday that Biden and Erdogan had spoken about Sweden’s NATO membership amongst different points and had agreed to fulfill in Vilnius for additional talks.
Sullivan mentioned the White House is assured Sweden will be part of the alliance.
“If it happens after Vilnius — we’re confident it will happen,” he mentioned. “We don’t regard this as something that is fundamentally in doubt. This is a matter of timing. The sooner the better.”
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Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. AP White House reporter Chris Megerian in London contributed to this report.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”