Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed today, Wednesday, that he will submit a bill to ratify Sweden's NATO membership to parliament when it reconvenes in the autumn.
In a press conference following the NATO summit in Vilnius, he noted that Sweden would present a roadmap to Turkey outlining the steps it would take against terrorism before the ratification of its application.
Erdogan highlighted that Sweden would support the update of the customs union agreement between Turkey and the European Union, in addition to allowing Turks to travel to EU countries without a visa.
The Turkish president expressed that he is "more optimistic than ever" about Turkey obtaining F-16 fighter jets from the United States, following discussions with U.S. President Joe Biden yesterday, Tuesday.
On another note, Erdogan stated that Turkey could play a mediating role between Russia and Ukraine to reach an agreement to end the war, if both countries agree. He added, "Russia changed its stance regarding the release of the former leaders of the Ukrainian garrison in Mariupol, after an initial angry reaction."
He further mentioned that "there were some statements from Russia, but when they became aware of certain conditions, the situation took a positive turn."
In this context, the Russian news agency TASS reported today, Wednesday, citing Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, that Russian President Vladimir Putin "has no plans at this time to talk with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan."
