Turkey agreed to ask its parliament to advance Sweden’s bid for NATO membership, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg told reporters Monday. The breakthrough came after Turkey received assurances on key demands, including Stockholm’s approach to supporters of Kurdish separatists operating in its territory, according to a Turkish official.
A Turkish official said there was also progress toward meeting their demands to lift defense-related sanctions and that EU officials agreed to speed up their membership negotiations, including on joining the customs union and allowing visa-free travel for its citizens.
[Erdogan started off the day declaring that they could get his support by selling Turkey the fully functional F-16s he wants and to accelerate Turkey’s entry into the EU. It seems as though Erdogan got both. That will be a bitter pill for Vladimir Putin to swallow, which presents interesting scenarios about how that relationship will progress. — Ed]
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