NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced today, prior to the summit scheduled for tomorrow in Vilnius, that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to refer Sweden's application for NATO membership to the Turkish parliament. Stoltenberg stated at a press conference, "I am pleased to announce that President Erdogan has agreed to submit Sweden's accession protocol to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey as soon as possible and to work closely with the assembly to ensure ratification."
Stoltenberg declined to specify a date for the Turkish parliament's approval of Sweden's NATO membership. The parliament will announce the exact date for the ratification of the application.
For his part, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson noted on Monday that his country has taken a significant step towards NATO membership after reaching an agreement with President Erdogan to allow Stockholm to join the alliance. Kristersson said at a press conference following a meeting with Erdogan and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, "I feel very relieved; this has been my goal for a long time, and I believe we received a very positive response today and took a very significant step towards membership."
