By Janet Ekstract
ISTANBUL- On Monday’ In what NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called a “historic move”- Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to accept Sweden into NATO. After intense negotiations between the NATO chief as well as the Swedish and Turkish sides, Erdogan finally conceded, just hours before the NATO Summit met in Vilnius, Lithuania. The agreement was not without its concessions though as Erdogan also demanded as a condition on Sweden’s membership that Turkiye’s EU accession bid be sped up and given major attention.
Also on Monday, in a joint statement, Turkiye and Sweden did agree to new barometers to be met. One of those includes Sweden agreeing to push forward EU accession for Turkiye which also includes modernizing the EU-Turkiye Customs Union and visa liberalization as well as eliminating trade barriers while boosting bilateral economic investments. As part of the agreement, Sweden has explicitly agreed not to support any terrorist groups or organizations against Turkiye. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told the press on Monday that it was a very good day for Sweden.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden praised Erdogan for his “courage” and willingness to accept Sweden’s NATO bid. Erdogan was expecting to see the U.S. agree to send F-16 fighter jets which Biden has given the green light on. Both leaders praised one another as they discussed bilateral issues and clearly showed strengthening ties. Biden added that he is looking forward to working with Erdogan and the Turkish leader echoed the same sentiment to Biden.
