Sweden's accession to NATO is at the discretion of the Turkish parliament, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, adding that lawmakers would make the right decision in line with Ankara's interests.
"The authority to approve Sweden's accession protocols is the Turkish Grand National Assembly. There is a process running now.
"Our parliament will follow the steps taken and will make the right decision in line with the interests of our country," Erdogan told reporters on Wednesday on the presidential plane returning from a two-day NATO summit in Lithuania.
On Monday, ahead of the NATO summit, Erdogan agreed to forward to the Turkish parliament Sweden's bid to join NATO following a trilateral meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership shortly after Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022.
Although Türkiye approved Finland's membership to NATO, it is waiting for Sweden to fulfill its commitments not to provide shelter to terrorists and supporters of terrorists and not to greenlight their actions.
"Again, as a result of our efforts, the decision to appoint a special coordinator for combating terrorism was announced for the first time in the history of the alliance.
Comments