NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that he welcomes the dialogue between Turkey and the USA regarding F-16s, and stated that Turkey's plan to buy F-16 warplanes from the USA is in line with the agreement reached between Turkey, Sweden and NATO on Sweden's application for NATO membership. He said he wasn't part of it.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke at the forum held before the NATO Summit, which started yesterday in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
Answering the question about Sweden's application for NATO membership, President Erdoğan, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and the trilateral meeting he attended, Stoltenberg said, "This summit has become historic before it even started. Because now there is the question of Sweden's membership and Sweden will be a full member of this alliance. This is good for Sweden, Turkey and the whole NATO and the Baltic region."
Answering the question about Turkey's plan to buy F-16 fighter jets from the United States, Stoltenberg said:
"This is the decision of the USA. Turkey has made it very clear that it does not see a connection between them. NATO has been very open about what we can do to lift arms export restrictions between allies. I welcome a dialogue between Türkiye and the United States on F-16s. But that is not part of the consensus we reached yesterday."
In response to the question about when Sweden will become a NATO member, Stoltenberg stated that President Erdoğan promised to send the document of approval regarding Sweden's accession to the Turkish Grand National Assembly as soon as possible.
"Turkey has its own parliamentary process. I can't go into detail for a full calendar. Parliament is not open at the moment. But most importantly, Turkey has made a clear decision that it will forward the accession protocol. I believe that we have also resolved the main issue of ratification in Turkey."