The chief of the NATO alliance on Tuesday said he is confident the agreement reached between Türkiye and Sweden is a "lasting" deal, along with the commitments made by Sweden paving the way to its NATO accession.
"I'm absolutely confident that both Sweden and Türkiye will adhere to the agreement and also that this will continue after accession," Jens Stoltenberg said in Vilnius, Lithuania for a two-day alliance summit when asked by Anadolu whether NATO will assume the guarantor role to push Sweden to fulfill its commitments after ratification as well.
He also stressed a commitment to “ensure that we actually established last year in Madrid what we called a permanent mechanism to ensure the continued cooperation on the fighting terrorism," referring to a tripartite pact Türkiye, Finland, and Sweden signed in Spain last June after the Nordic countries began their NATO membership processes.
"Just the fact that we have met many times since Madrid to step up our cooperation in the fight against terrorism demonstrates this is lasting agreement and the lasting commitment that will also be there after Sweden joins the alliance," he added.
Sweden's accession to NATO after Finland joined this April has been one of the top items at the summit. Stoltenberg announced late Monday that Türkiye has agreed to send Sweden's NATO Accession Protocol to parliament following a trilateral meeting between himself, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
"Sweden agreed today, as an EU member, also to support actively the efforts to reinvigorate Türkiye's EU accession process, and also to help modernize the EU-Türkiye Customs Union and visa liberalization," he said, citing two longstanding issues Türkiye has had in relations with the EU.
Cooperation against terrorist threat
Earlier, Erdogan said the Turkish people expect steps forward from the EU as Türkiye does its part with Sweden’s NATO accession.
Stoltenberg underscored that Sweden's cooperation with Türkiye in the fight against terrorism – one of the country’s top issues – will continue beyond accession, as both countries agreed to establish a new bilateral security compact, including a new special counter-terrorism coordinator for "stepping up its work in this area."
In a joint statement following the meeting, Sweden reiterated that it will not support the YPG/PKK terrorist organization or the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Türkiye.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian branch.
Turkish officials have often complained of a lack of cooperation and support from its allies in countering the terrorist threat the country faces.
The Nordic countries also agreed to work towards eliminating sanctions and removing obstacles in defense trade and investments among allies.
A top Turkish official also said Türkiye received "full support" for its EU accession process, including the lifting of sanctions and visa liberalization.
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