ANKARA, July 21. /TASS/: Turkey’s approval of Sweden’s bid to join NATO will depend on Stockholm’s compliance with the agreements to fight terrorism, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in comments to reporters that were broadcast by TRT television on Friday.
"When Sweden's application for NATO membership is submitted to the parliament, the process will be taking place according to the parliament's working schedule. We will follow the promises and guarantees made by the Swedish side during our negotiations. We will act in accordance with the steps that Sweden will take. The European Union membership of Turkey, which has the second strongest army in NATO and is practically NATO’s driving force, would give vitality and strength to the Union. Sweden would benefit from taking concrete measures to combat terrorist organizations and extradite terrorists, which our country is very sensitive to. We expect that the promises and guarantees will be kept," the president said in comments onboard his plane.
Earlier, Turkey supported Sweden's bid to join NATO. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Erdogan, in a meeting under the auspices of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on July 10, reached an agreement under which Turkey will begin the process of ratifying Sweden's application for NATO membership. It includes six points stating that Sweden has made the necessary changes to its legislation and has significantly stepped up the fight against terrorist manifestations of the Kurdistan Workers' Party over the past year, as well as resumed military exports to Turkey. These agreements were reached during last year's NATO summit in Madrid.
