President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has agreed to back Sweden's NATO bid, and will forward it to the Turkish Parliament soon, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said after a trilateral meeting with Turkish and Swedish leaders in Vilnius, Lithuania, on the eve of the critical NATO summit on Tuesday.
Stoltenberg told reporters that Erdoğan has agreed to send Sweden’s NATO accession protocol to the Turkish Parliament "as soon as possible," without specifying a date.
"I'm glad to announce that President (Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan has agreed to forward the Accession Protocol for Sweden to the Grand National Assembly as soon as possible and work closely with assembly to ensure ratification," Stoltenberg said.
"Sweden agreed today, as an EU member, also to support actively the efforts to reinvigorate Türkiye's EU accession process, and also to help to modernize the EU-Türkiye customs unions and visa liberalization," he said.
The trilateral meeting agreed to work toward eliminating sanctions and removing obstacles in defense trade and investments among allies.
Stockholm reassured Türkiye that it would not support terrorist organizations PKK/YPG and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) in the aftermath of its NATO membership and that a new bilateral security mechanism will be created between Ankara and Stockholm.
NATO will also establish a Special Coordinator on Counterterrorism for the first time, in the bloc's history, Stoltenberg said.
He noted that Hungary has made it clear that they will not be the last to ratify Stockholm's NATO bid and would also soon approve it.
Türkiye has delayed its final approval to Sweden’s membership in NATO, accusing the country of being too lenient toward anti-Islamic demonstrations as well as terrorist entities.
Although Sweden's prime minister said on Friday that Prime Minister Viktor Orban had assured him that Budapest would not delay the Nordic country's NATO accession, Hungary's parliament has not put the ratification on its agenda this week before the summer break. The parliament will hold its last meeting on Friday. The ratification process has been stranded in parliament since last July.
Meanwhile, a top Turkish official said Türkiye received "full support" for its EU accession process, including lifting of sanctions and visa liberalization.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson confirmed his country will establish a new bilateral security dialogue with Türkiye for cooperation.
US, UK welcome Türkiye's decision
Türkiye's decision to back Sweden's NATO bid was also welcomed by leaders of the U.S. and the U.K.
U.S. President Joe Biden said he stands ready to work with Erdoğan and Türkiye "on enhancing defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area."
"I stand ready to work with President Erdogan and Türkiye on enhancing defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area. I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister (Ulf) Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd NATO Ally. And I thank (NATO) Secretary General (Jens) Stoltenberg for his steadfast leadership," he added.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed Biden's statement.
"We welcome Türkiye's commitment to transmit Sweden's NATO accession protocols to Turkish Parliament and work with parliament to secure ratification," Blinken said on Twitter.
"Sweden becoming our 32nd NATO Ally will strengthen the @NATO Alliance and contribute to European security," he wrote.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called Türkiye's decision to forward Sweden's NATO accession "an historic moment for NATO that makes us all safer."