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| What does Turkey want to achieve by supporting Sweden's NATO membership? |
Turkey announced its support for Sweden's NATO membership hours before the NATO summit.
It is a historic moment for Sweden, which has spent the past year fighting hard to join NATO.
Jens Stoltenberg, the head of the military alliance of NATO countries, has confirmed Turkey's support for Sweden's NATO membership, saying that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to support Sweden's accession to NATO and that Turkey Will ensure its ratification by Parliament.
Sweden's Prime Minister Alf Kristerson welcomed the announcement, saying "I am very happy and this is a historic day for Sweden."
On the other hand, US President Joe Biden has welcomed Turkish President Erdogan's determination to move forward with speedy ratification.
According to a statement issued by the White House, Joe Biden said, "I am ready to work with President Erdogan and Turkey to increase defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic region. I look forward to welcoming you as our 32nd NATO ally.'
German Foreign Minister Annale Bierbach said in a statement on the social networking website Twitter that we are all safer together.
Stoltenberg announced the deal after talks between the Turkish and Swedish leaders in Vilnius.
The NATO chief called it a "historic step" but stressed that there was no "clear date" for when Sweden would join the military alliance because it was dependent on the Turkish parliament.
It should be noted that Turkey had earlier blocked Sweden's request and accused it of hosting Kurdish militants.
As one of NATO's 31 members, Turkey has a veto over any new country joining the group.
How was the agreement reached before the summit?
Turkey announced its support for Sweden to join the alliance hours before the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
After a tripartite meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Swedish Prime Minister Alf Christensen, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Parliament announced a consensus to approve Sweden's membership soon.
Negotiations between Turkey and Sweden on the NATO accession process have been ongoing for more than a year.
Turkey's recent announcement comes after sustained diplomatic efforts by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and senior US officials.
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg brought Turkish President Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Alf Kristerson together for a NATO summit and continued his diplomatic efforts since the Turkish president took office after the election on June 4 in Istanbul. managed to reach this final stage.
In the meeting, it was also decided to establish a new mechanism of cooperation between Sweden and Turkey in the field of security and to appoint the Secretary General of NATO as a special counter-terrorism coordinator.
Sweden also announced that it would support Turkey's EU accession process.
What is in the seven-point joint declaration?
After this important meeting, a joint statement of the parties was issued which consists of seven points. The seventh point in this statement is considered to be very important and worth noting, according to which, 'On this basis, in the light of the security and defense needs of the Euro-Atlantic region, Turkey will present Sweden's accession protocol to the Parliament and its It will also work with the Assembly to ensure ratification.'
However, it is also worth noting that the article does not set any deadline for its approval.
Responding to a question asked about this in the press conference after the meeting, Stoltenberg said that President Erdoğan has also expressed his consent on this matter and has also assured of the earliest steps.
The basis for the consensus reached in this seventh article of the treaty is set out in other articles.
Another clause of the same agreement states that Turkey and Sweden have been working together for the past year to address Turkey's legitimate security concerns, and it is noteworthy that the Swedish government has agreed with the Kurdish Workers' Party (PK). has changed its constitution and laws to counter the K', as well as lifting the arms embargo on Turkey.
Sweden's 'Counter-Terrorism Roadmap'
The third article of the parties' joint statement states that Turkey and Sweden are going to set up a mechanism that will meet once a year at the ministerial level with a new bilateral security agreement, as well as a trilateral agreement with Finland. will meet under the joint permanent mechanism.
According to the same article, Sweden will present at the first meeting a road map against all forms of terrorism and demonstrations for the implementation of the elements included in the tripartite agreement reached in Madrid.
According to the joint statement, Sweden will not support Fethullah Gülen's organization, known in Turkey as the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), and in Syria as the People's Defense Unit (YPG).
The fourth article emphasizes that Turkey and Sweden's "war against terrorism is a long-term one" and that this cooperation will continue even after Sweden's accession.
The fifth article prohibits the sale of arms between the Allies at the request of TurkeyA is about not limiting.
The EU's Commitment to Sweden
The joint statement also informed about the decision to promote mutual economic relations between the two countries, under which 'updating the Swedish Customs Union and revitalizing Turkey's EU accession process, including visa liberalization. will play an active role in the efforts.
It should be remembered that this reference to the European Union came after President Erdogan's press conference before his departure to Vilnius announced that Sweden's NATO membership would pave the way for Turkey's accession to the European Union.
Stoltenberg also reiterated that as NATO they have no involvement in the EU's enlargement process and that the tripartite joint statement informed the agreed framework.
On the other hand, another country opposing Sweden's NATO membership is Hungary.
Answering a question about this in the press conference after the meeting, Stoltenberg said, "Hungary had promised us that it would not be the last country to ratify, so now with the support of Turkey, this issue has been resolved." .'