NATO chief calls Vilnius summit 'historic' with Türkiye-Sweden agreement

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AA) – The NATO chief on Tuesday said that the Vilnius summit is "already historic" even before it began due to an agreement between Türkiye and Sweden.

"The most important message at this summit already happened before it started. Sweden will become a full-fledged member of the alliance. That's good for Sweden, good for Türkiye, and good for the Baltic region," Jens Stoltenberg said during his opening remarks at NATO Public Forum.

Sweden's accession to NATO following Finland is one of the main agenda items of the summit. As Stoltenberg announced a day ahead of the summit, Türkiye has agreed to send Sweden's NATO Accession Protocol to parliament following a trilateral meeting between himself, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

"Sweden agreed today, as an EU member, also to support actively the efforts to reinvigorate Türkiye's EU accession process, and also to help modernize the EU-Türkiye customs union and visa liberalization," he said.

Answering a host's question, Stoltenberg said he would welcome any step between the US and Türkiye regarding F16 fighter jets, however, the issue was "not part of yesterday's agreement."

"We need to stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes," he reiterated and added that it will be a clear message from this summit.

He said he is confident that the allies will make "strong and united" decisions on Ukraine – both to sustain and step up our support.

"I'm also confident that on the membership issue, allies will reaffirm that Ukraine will become a member," he added.

Regarding cluster munitions, he said: "We need to understand that cluster munition has been used on both sides in this war. The difference is that Russia is using cluster munitions to invade and occupy another country, while Ukraine is using them to defend itself against Russian aggression."