International
NATO Secretary General welcomes T?rkiye?s stand on Sweden
11 Jul, 2023
By Easwaran Rutnam
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed T?rkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan?s agreement to forward the accession protocol for Sweden to the Grand National Assembly as soon as possible.
The announcement came following a meeting between the Secretary General, President Erdogan, and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
“The memorandum concluded a year ago at the Madrid summit has delivered,” Stoltenberg said.
“It has delivered more in our fight against terrorism, more security for T?rkiye, and a stronger NATO.”
Since the last NATO Summit, Sweden and T?rkiye have worked closely together to address T?rkiye?s legitimate security concerns.
As part of that process, Sweden has amended its constitution, changed its laws, significantly expanded its counter- terrorism cooperation against the PKK, and resumed arms exports to T?rkiye, all steps set out in the Trilateral Memorandum agreed in 2022.
?Sweden?s cooperation with T?rkiye in the fight against terrorism will continue beyond accession,? he said, welcoming that Sweden and T?rkiye agreed today to establish a new bilateral Security Compact.
?NATO will also significantly step up its work in this area, and I will establish, for the first time at NATO, the post of Special Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism,? said the Secretary General.
?Completing Sweden?s accession to NATO is an historic step that benefits the security of all NATO Allies at this critical time. It makes us all stronger and safer,? Stoltenberg said.
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