President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and EU Council President agreed to "re-energize" Türkiye-EU relations as they discussed Sweden's NATO membership ahead of a NATO summit, shortly after saying that Türkiye would approve Stockholm's NATO bid if EU approves Ankara's EU membership.
Closed to the media, the meeting took place at the Lithuanian Exhibition and Congress Centre (LITEXPO) in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
Good meeting with President @RTErdogan at #NATOsummit.
Explored opportunities ahead to bring - cooperation back to the forefront & re-energise our relations.
EUCO has invited HRVP & @EU_Commission to submit report with a view to proceed in strategic & forward-looking manner pic.twitter.com/sIvOfXnfws
— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) July 10, 2023
Earlier Erdoğan had rattled preparations for NATO's Vilnius meeting by declaring that he would only back Sweden's candidacy for the Western alliance if European Union members – most of whom are also NATO allies – agree to revive Türkiye's negotiations to join the EU.
The Turkish leader held talks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Swedish Premier Ulf Kristersson in Vilnius in a push to get Ankara to lift its year-long block on Stockholm.
Diplomats said that meeting was then put on hold while Erdoğan sat down with European Council head Michel.
It was unclear what Michel, who heads the body representing the EU's 27 leaders, could offer to Erdoğan to help break the deadlock.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, an EU and NATO heavyweight, has insisted there is no link between Stockholm's quest to join the Western military alliance and Ankara's long-stalled application to enter the EU.
