US President Joe Biden welcomed Turkey’s decision to support Sweden’s ascension to NATO on Monday, saying he stood “ready to work with President ( Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan and Turkey on enhancing defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area,” APA reports citing CNN.
“I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister (Ulf) Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd NATO Ally,” Biden said in a statement shortly after the announcement.
The US president also thanked NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg for his leadership. As CNN previously reported, Stoltenberg said that Turkey has agreed to back Sweden's bid to join the military alliance.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also welcomed the move, saying in a tweet that Sweden's membership to NATO is "in everyone's interest."
"Their accession makes us all safer. The UK welcomes the steps Turkey has taken today to bring this closer. We continue to stand by our Swedish friends," Cleverly tweeted.
Some context: The announcement came on the eve of NATO's summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, and represents a stunning about-face from Erdogan, who had earlier on Monday suggested Sweden could only join the alliance after his country is accepted into the European Union.
Erdogan has stood in the path of Sweden joining NATO for more than a year over a multitude of concerns.
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