Brussels-Vilnius: Europe and the Arabs
At the start of the two-day NATO Summit, which kicked off today in Vilnius, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's agreement to transmit Sweden's accession protocol to parliament as soon as possible, describing it. A historic decision that is "good for Sweden, good for Turkey, and good for the entire coalition".
NATO headquarters in Brussels published what was said by Stoltenberg, who said, "At the summit, the allies will also send a clear message that 'we stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes', and work to improve political relations with Kiev - including the inaugural meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council with the President." Volodymyr Zelensky The Allies will take decisions to strengthen deterrence and defense, and agree on a more ambitious defense investment pledge. The Secretary-General also welcomed the leaders of Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the Republic of Korea to join the Allies, stressing that security is not regional, but global.
This came after Belgium and other NATO allies welcomed on Monday evening the decision of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to drop his opposition to Sweden's bid to join NATO and submit it to the Turkish Parliament for ratification.
"Erdogan's decision ended a year-long stalemate over Ankara's opposition to Sweden's membership in the coalition," said the Belgian news agency in Brussels.

Earlier on Monday, Erdogan raised the stakes by calling for the reopening of Ankara's EU membership negotiations. However, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg later announced that an agreement had been reached. Stoltenberg announced on Monday evening that Sweden would become a "full member of NATO" after meeting Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Lithuania. NATO Secretary General wrote on Twitter, "I am pleased to announce that after the meeting, this is a historic step that makes all NATO allies stronger and stronger." Safer.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre de Croo was among the first NATO leaders to welcome this breakthrough. "Sincere thanks to S.G. Stoltenberg for his tireless efforts," De Croo wrote on Twitter. “This is how the NATO summit in Vilnius achieved its first success!” US President Joe Biden also welcomed the new development. "I stand ready to work with President Erdogan and Turkey to enhance defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic region. I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Christerson and Sweden as our 32nd NATO Ally," he said in a statement. However, Stoltenberg refused to give a deadline, telling the press that it was up to the Turkish parliament to complete the process and definitively ratify Stockholm's membership in NATO.
Allies are also expected to adopt a Defense Production Action Plan to "accumulate demand, enhance capacity, and increase interoperability" and a more ambitious defense investment pledge to invest at least 2% of GDP per year in defence. The Secretary-General welcomed that new NATO defense spending estimates, released today, show a real increase of 8.3% for European allies and Canada in 2023. “This is the largest increase in decades, and the ninth consecutive year of increases in our defense spending,” the Secretary-General said. So European allies and Canada have invested more than an additional $450 billion since we agreed our Defense Investment Pledge in 2014."