Turkish President reaffirms support for NATO open door policy

Erdoğan made the remarks in a speech to reporters prior to his visit to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius for the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit.

He said that Turkey had always supported NATO's open door policy, and that it had been vocal in its support for North Macedonia's membership bid, which had been pending for 16 years.

Erdoğan said that a roadmap had been prepared for Finland and Sweden's membership applications to NATO, and that Finland had already become an official member of the alliance.

However, he said that the process concerning Sweden was still ongoing, and that Turkey's relevant institutions were maintaining talks with their Swedish counterparts with a transparent and well-intentioned approach.

Erdoğan said that he would hold a tripartite meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on Wednesday evening.

He said that the progress of Sweden's NATO membership process depended on the fulfillment of the issues set down in the Trilateral Memorandum that was signed by Turkey, Finland, and Sweden in Madrid last month.

The memorandum addressed Turkey's concerns about Sweden's support for Kurdish groups that Turkey considers to be terrorist organizations.

Erdoğan said that Turkey would continue to closely monitor Sweden's implementation of the memorandum. (ILKHA)