Joe Biden before the Vilnius NATO summit in Lithuania he wanted to send a clear message to the allies on Ukraine's entry into the Alliance: "Kiev is not ready to join NATO… it has to meet other requirements","there is no unanimity among the member countries” and do it now”in the midst of a conflict would mean going to war with Russia“, given the commitment to mutual defense “of every inch of NATO territory” (pursuant to Article 5 of the Treaty).
The American president explained that it is necessary first “chart a rational path for Ukraine to qualify for NATO membership“, promising that the United States and allies will continue to provide security and arms to Ukraine, as it does for Israel.
A completely different tenor on the entrance to the Sweden in the Alliance where Biden has shown himself to be highly favorable despite Turkish reticence which reproaches Stockholm for the hospitality of Kurdish militants and the story of the Koran being burned in the square. Biden has made it clear that, in return, Erdogan could receive the American green light for the modernization of the F-16 fleet, likewise the analogous promise made on the same fighters to the Greeks who, as is known, are on a collision course with Turkey via of tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean.
In the evening, the happy announcement of the NATO secretary general Jean Stoltenberg on the issue of Sweden joining the Alliance after the three-way meeting with the leaders of Turkey and Sweden: “I am happy to announce that President Erdogan has agreed to allow Sweden to join NATO as soon as possible".
“We were able to reconcile the concerns of Turkey and Sweden, now we have made progress in the agreed text on how to implement the fight against terrorism, work together as allies and ensure that the restrictions on arms exports from Stockholm to Ankara are removed"Stoltenberg said.
A special coordinator for the fight against terrorism will be created at NATO, noted the secretary general.
"Today is historic day. We have a clear commitment from Ankara to present Sweden's ratification to the Parliament as soon as possible and to work for the ratification to happen immediately. But it's not my job to give timescales on how long it will take, we have to respect the timing of the Turkish Parliament", he added. Budapest now remains the other country to give the green light. “I think Hungary's problem will be solved.", he emphasized.
"It is not up to NATO to comment on the process of Turkey's entry into the EU but Sweden agreed, as an EU member, to support the reinvigoration of Ankara's entry process", Stoltenberg explained again.
US President Joe Biden has expressed his appreciation for the agreement between Sweden and Turkey: “I am ready to collaborate with the Turkish president and his country to strengthen defense in the Euro-Atlantic area. I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd NATO ally".
The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen speaks of “a historic stage in Vilnius. “I welcome the important step that Turkey has promised to take, to ratify Sweden's NATO membership”.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that the "his country is ready to respect the memorandum signed in Madrid and embarking on a new bilateral cooperation with security Turkey to continue fighting organized crime and terrorism".
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