Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez pledged that his country would support Türkiye's EU accession process, as he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan early Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO leaders’ summit in Lithuania's capital, Vilnius.
The two leaders held a closed-door meeting, reports said.
At a news conference on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Lithuania's capital Vilnius, Sanchez said he pledged to try to advance issues of interest to Türkiye regarding its accession to the EU during Spain's presidency of the bloc.
"... we have to see exactly how we can take steps along these months so that Türkiye can feel closer and not further away," he said.
He added that Spain "has always maintained a positive attitude" towards Türkiye's two top priorities-visa liberalization and updating of the customs union.
As the holder of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, he said he told the Turkish president that Spain "will try to help so that these two issues go forward."
The prime minister praised the "privileged and strategic relationship" between Spain and Türkiye.
Additionally, Erdoğan met U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
On Monday, he also spoke with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, EU Council President Charles Michel, and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
Stoltenberg announced that Türkiye has agreed to send Sweden’s long-stalled NATO accession protocol to parliament following a meeting between himself, Erdoğan and Kristersson.
The president is also expected to meet with archrival Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis later in the day.
The 31 leaders of the military alliance are meeting in Vilnius to discuss the Ukraine war, Sweden's NATO membership, and steps to strengthen the group's defense and deterrence, among other issues.
Türkiye has been a NATO member for over 70 years and boasts its second-largest army.
The summit’s second day opened with a meeting between the heads of state and government of NATO partners where Stoltenberg emphasized “unity” against Russian aggression for a “rules-based international order.”
