NATO chief to visit Turkey, advance NATO bid for Sweden and Finland
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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will be visiting Turkey to discuss Finland and Sweden's accession bid to NATO.
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NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg (AFP)
A Turkish source told AFP on Friday that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg would go to Turkey on November 4 to discuss the military alliance's almost-completed application processes for Finland and Sweden.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his country will not approve the membership of the two nations unless "the promises they made were kept," and Stoltenberg is scheduled to meet with him.
Earlier on Wednesday, Stoltenberg announced that he will visit Turkey and praised the "close contact" Sweden and Finland had with Ankara. At the time, he said "I will go to Istanbul to meet with President Erdogan in the near future myself."
Erdogan has also accepted a request from Sweden's new Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to visit Turkey. The latter had, on October 20, stated that he was ready to head to Ankara to urge Turkey to back bids by Sweden and Finland to join the NATO alliance.
"I have already sent a signal to the Turkish government that we are prepared to go to Ankara immediately," Kristersson said, as he arrived for an EU leaders' summit three days after taking office.
Some Turkish sources have said that the visit could take place on the 8th of November, however the Swedish sources have not yet confirmed a date.
It is worth noting that during a recent telephone call with the Swedish PM, Erdogan said that Turkey "stands ready to advance the bilateral relations with the Swedish government in all areas."
Erdogan freezes Sweden, Finland NATO bid 'till promises are met'
On October 1, Erdogan affirmed that Turkey will continue to freeze Sweden and Finland's bids for NATO membership until the promises made by the two Nordic countries are "kept".
"Until the promises made to our country are kept, we will maintain our principled position," Erdogan said in a speech to parliament in Ankara.
What were the promises?
On June 28, the two Nordic countries signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding with Turkey in which they pledged to address Ankara’s concerns over their stance toward the PKK, YPG, and the Gulen movements.
In the memorandum, the two Nordic countries had agreed to lift their embargoes on weapons deliveries to Turkey, which were imposed in response to Ankara's 2019 military incursion into Syria.
Erdogan's office confirmed in late June that Finland and Sweden agreed to abandon "the embargo in the field of the military-industrial complex" of Turkey, adding that the two countries agreed to amend their national legislation "in the field of counter-terrorism and the defense industry."
One request vs. a long list of conditions
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 28, 2022
While #Turkey had a long list of conditions from #Finland and #Sweden, all the two Nordic states wanted was to join #NATO.
Here's your guide to understanding on what basis the agreement was made. pic.twitter.com/Aw7Jtu7frp
Finland and Sweden will also ban "fundraising and recruitment activities" for the Kurdish militants and "prevent terrorist propaganda against Turkey," Erdogan's office said.
The statement mentioned that the two Nordic countries also agreed to cooperate with Turkey on the deportation and extradition of "terrorism suspects".
Turkey announced on July 21 the establishment of a "permanent committee" to meet with Finnish and Swedish officials in August and review whether the two countries are meeting Ankara's conditions for ratifying their NATO membership aspirations.
