Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to support Sweden’s bid to join Nato, its secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday, on the eve of a summit of the military alliance in Lithuania.
“I’m glad to announce... that President Erdogan has agreed to forward the accession protocol for Sweden to the grand national assembly [the Turkish parliament] as soon as possible, and work closely with the assembly to ensure ratification,” Mr Stoltenberg told a news conference.
US president Joe Biden on Monday welcomed Mr Erdogan’s decision, which was announced just hours after the Turkish president indicated his support for Swedish accession could be contingent on Turkey’s stalled application to join the EU.
Earlier, Ukraine said Nato states had agreed to let it join the bloc in the future under a simplified procedure as pre-summit talks continued over relations with Kyiv.
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Nato leaders will meet in Vilnius on Tuesday, amid demands from Ukraine for clear signals that it will be admitted to the alliance once its war with Russia is over and protected from further Kremlin aggression during the accession process.
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said that “following intensive talks” Nato countries had “reached consensus” that his country would not have to fulfil a reform programme known as a membership action plan (Map) to join the bloc.
“I welcome this long-awaited decision that shortens our path to Nato. It is also the best moment to offer clarity on the invitation to Ukraine to become member,” he added.
Mr Stoltenberg said removal of the Map could be part of a three-pronged deal with Kyiv to be discussed in Vilnius, which may also include a commitment to ensure full interoperability between Ukrainian and Nato militaries and the forging of stronger political ties in a new Nato-Ukraine council.
“But again, the final decisions will be taken ... when we all agree and the leaders meet tomorrow. So it’s too early to announce exactly their specific decisions and the specific language,” he said.
Before a brief visit to London on Monday, Mr Biden said Ukraine was not ready for Nato membership, but called for presentation of “a rational path” that would lead it into the alliance once the war was over.
Russia claims that its invasion of its neighbour was a pre-emptive move to quash security threats posed by Kyiv’s deepening ties with Nato states, and repeated on Monday that it would never accept Ukrainian membership of the bloc.
“You must be aware of Russia’s absolutely clear and consistent position that Ukraine’s Nato membership will have highly negative consequences for the already half-ruined European security architecture, and will also be an ultimate danger and threat to our country, which will require quite a clear and strong response from us,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Nato hoped Ankara would end its opposition to the membership of Sweden, which it accuses of being too soft on Kurdish “terrorists”, but on the eve of the summit Mr Erdogan suddenly linked the issue to his country’s stalled EU accession bid.
“Turkey has been waiting at the door of the European Union for over 50 years now, and almost all Nato member countries are now members of the European Union,” he said. “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 ... First, open the way to Turkey’s membership of the European Union, and then we will open it for Sweden”.
Turkey applied to join what was then the European Economic Community in 1987 and became an EU candidate country 12 years later, before formally starting membership talks in 2005. They stalled as Mr Erdogan’s rule become more autocratic, however.
Prior to Mr Stoltenberg’s news conference on Monday evening, Mr Biden told CNN that he was trying to break the Turkish-Swedish impasse through a deal on F-16 fighter jets with Ankara.
“Turkey is looking for modernisation of F-16 aircraft. And [prime minister Kyriakos] Mitsotakis in Greece is also looking for some help,” he said, describing his efforts to “put together ... a little bit of a consortium here, where we’re strengthening Nato in terms of military capacity of both Greece as well as Turkey, and allow Sweden to come in.”
Most Nato members say Sweden meets all entry requirements. Mr Erdogan and Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson were expected to hold talks in Vilnius before the summit.
In a separate development on Monday, it emerged that Russian president Vladimir Putin met Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin just days after a short-lived rebellion by the mercenary chief and his private army.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, a three-hour meeting took place on June 29th that also involved commanders from the military company Mr Prigozhin founded.
Mr Prigozhin has had a long-standing conflict with Russia’s top military brass that on June 24th culminated in an armed mutiny in which he led his fighters into Russia.
Mr Peskov said the criminal case that had been opened against Mr Prigozhin for armed mutiny would be dropped, and that the Wagner fighters who had taken part in his “march for justice” would not face any action, in recognition of their previous service to Russia. – Additional reporting: Reuters
