Sweden’s NATO bid not possible at Vilnius Summit
BAKU/ANKARA
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made clear once again that NATO-aspirant Sweden has to take concrete steps to join the alliance and stop the activities of the terrorists in the streets of Stockholm, underlining that the Nordic country will unlikely be admitted to NATO at the alliance’s key summit in Vilnius in July.
Speaking to reporters on his way back from Baku, Erdoğan said Türkiye will not be positive for Sweden joining the alliance at the summit to take place on July 11 and 12.
“I will attend the summit [in Vilnius] if nothing extraordinary happens. The fact that Sweden has some expectations [for the membership] does not mean that we will fulfill these expectations. First of all, Sweden has to fulfill its duties so that we meet its expectations [for joining the alliance],” Erdoğan said.
The NATO allies, except for Türkiye and Hungary, have already ratified Sweden’s application to join the alliance and press on these two countries to approve its bid before the Vilnius Summit so that the alliance can give a picture of unity with its 32 members.
Erdoğan recalled his meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on June 4 in Istanbul. “While Stoltenberg was expressing [his views about Sweden’s process], unfortunately the terrorists were rallying in the streets in Sweden. Later, Mr. İbrahim [Kalın, the head of the Turkish National Intelligence Service] has sent the footage of this demonstration to his [Swedish] counterpart,” Erdoğan stated.
There is no reason for Türkiye to green light Sweden’s bid to join the alliance under these conditions, the president stated, adding amendments on the constitution or in the laws are not enough to pursue an effective fight against terror. “What does law enforcement serve for? What they must do is to stop the [terrorist] activities,” he stated.
Putting pressure on Türkiye for Sweden’s bid under these conditions is not right, Erdoğan stressed, “[Sweden] won’t use its rights [regarding fighting against terror], and then you will tell us ‘Approve Sweden.’ Then, how about NATO’s mission to fight against terror? NATO should first tackle this.”
Türkiye will not give its green light to Sweden at the Vilnius Summit and this message was given to the Swedish, Finnish and NATO officials who held the fourth joint mechanism meeting in Ankara on June 14, Erdoğan said.
Meeting with Greek PM possible
On a question, Erdoğan said he may have a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the sidelines of the Vilnius Summit.
“Mitsotakis called me to congratulate me after the elections. Therefore, we won’t hesitate to meet him in Vilnius. We are two neighboring countries,” Erdoğan said, reiterating that Türkiye is trying to increase friendship and not enmities. However, Erdoğan said he would tell the Greek PM to stop armament.
On the Cyprus issue, Erdoğan described the current Greek Cyprus administration as being in a more peaceful spirit compared to previous administrations. “If they can continue this peaceful spirit, and say ‘yes’ to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ sovereign equal rights by ignoring the provocations from the European Union, then we can say ‘why not?’” Erdoğan said on a question about whether Ankara would negotiate the solution to the Cyprus question.
Türkiye and Turkish Cyprus have underlined that they will not negotiate a federal solution to the problem, insisting that the latter’s sovereign equality must be recognized.
Pashinyan’s visit to Türkiye welcomed
On another question, Erdoğan praised the visit by Armenian President Nikol Pashinyan to Ankara to attend his inauguration as the 13th president of Türkiye in early June.
“Pashinyan’s acceptance of our invitation was an important step. Mr. Pashinyan attended our ceremony after overcoming a lot of obstacles stemming from the opposition in his country,” he said.
On a question about Zengezur corridor that would link Nakhichevan to Azerbaijan, Erdoğan said it is not Armenia but Iran who is opposing to the project.
“Iran’s approach on this upsets us and Azerbaijan. They [Iran] should be upset, too, in fact,” he said.
“I wish that we can overcome this problem soon. If [Iran] would approach this positively, then Türkiye-Azerbaijan-Iran would be linked to each other and we can have a ‘Beijing-London’ line through land and rail roads,” he added.
