President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered remarks to reporters prior to his visit to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius for the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit. President Erdoğan noted that the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit, which will begin tomorrow, will be held amid the increasing negative effects of the war in Ukraine on global stability and security. “WE WILL REVIEW THE DECISIONS WE TOOK AT MADRID SUMMIT” Stating that views on the defense and the security of the NATO geography during this critical period will be exchanged and important decisions will be taken at the Summit, President Erdoğan said: “We will review the decisions we took at the Madrid Summit to strengthen the deterrence and defense structure of the Alliance as well as to support the partners, Ukraine in particular. We will hold on this occasion the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council formed as a sign of NATO and its alliances’ support for Ukraine. We believe that the immediate termination of the war with a just and lasting peace will further facilitate Ukraine’s NATO membership process.” President Erdoğan added that they decided to update the defense plans of the Alliance in Madrid, and that he expects them to be approved at the Vilnius Summit. President Erdoğan stressed that despite the efforts exerted to raise difficulties they act in line with the spirit of alliance during this period as has always been the case, and went on to say: “We will review in Vilnius the works carried out to carry NATO’s efforts in combatting terrorism to a new stage. Another important outcome of the Summit will be the renewal of the commitment of the minimum 2 per cent of the defense spending. On one hand we see that the increasing of the defense spending is discussed, brakes are applied with limitations on the other. The limitations and obstacles imposed unjustly by some of our allies restrict us. Our country, which saw nearly 2 per cent in defense spending in 2019, has regressed to some 1.30 per cent in this field. I will reiterate our call to our allies, which impose sanctions and limitations against Türkiye, to immediately rectify this mistake of theirs.” NATO’S EXPANSION Underscoring that one of the items on their agenda will be the expansion of NATO, President Erdoğan noted that Türkiye has always supported the open door policy of NATO. President Erdoğan said: “We at every opportunity voiced our support for this policy while North Macedonia had been kept waiting at the door for 16 years. With the Trilateral Memorandum we signed last year in Madrid, a roadmap was prepared regarding Finland and Sweden’s membership application to NATO. Having acted in line with its commitments, Finland became an official member of the Alliance in April. The process concerning Sweden, on the other hand, still continues. Our relevant institutions maintain their talks with their Swedish counterparts with a transparent and well-intentioned approach. And I will hold a tripartite meeting with NATO Secretary General and the Swedish Prime Minister tonight. The progress of Sweden’s NATO membership process depends on the fulfillment of the issues set down in the Trilateral Memorandum. We as Türkiye are tired of saying that it is a must to combat terrorist organizations and its extensions without making any distinction among them.” Wishing Allah’s mercy upon two gallant Turkish soldiers, Hasan Taş and Furkan Günergök, who died a martyr’s death yesterday in the Operation Claw-Lock zone, President Erdoğan extended his condolences to the relatives and brothers-in-arms of the martyrs. “No one should expect any compromise or understanding from us while our soldiers, police officers and civilians are martyred,” President Erdoğan stressed, adding that they want all the promises made to them to be delivered on. “WE ASSUME CRITICAL ROLES AT GLOBAL SCALE” Pointing out that Türkiye does more than what falls to itself as one of the five allies that contribute the most to NATO’s missions and operations, President Erdoğan stated that Türkiye, by making use of advanced technology on land, at sea and in the air, provide the Alliance with significant strength and capabilities. Noting that their anti-terror fight in the southern border region, which is NATO’s borders as well, and beyond continues, President Erdoğan said: “We assume critical roles at global scale in the prevention and management of irregular mass migration. In Vilnius, we, together with our allies, will reaffirm the importance we attach to the Alliance in a period during which threats are on the rise. I will hold bilateral talks with some of the heads of state and government on the sidelines of the Summit. I hope that my visit to Lithuania will lead to auspicious outcomes for our country, Alliance and region.” “CLEAR THE PATH TO THE EU IN FRONT OF TÜRKİYE AND THEN WE WILL CLEAR THE PATH IN FRONT OF SWEDEN” Further stressing that he would like to reiterate another reality on the occasion of his visit to Lithuania, President Erdoğan went on to say: “Türkiye has for over 50 years been kept waiting at the door of the European Union. Besides, today, nearly all of the NATO-member countries are at the same time a member of the EU. I hereby call on the countries that make Türkiye keep waiting at the door of the EU for over 50 years, will make the same call again in Vilnius: First clear the path to the EU in front of Türkiye and then we will clear the path in front of Sweden, just as we did for Finland.” Stating that he told President Joe Biden of the U.S. all this during their phone call last night, President Erdoğan said: “I have to make this statement in Vilnius, too. That is so because I believe that our nation has an expectation from us.” PRESIDENT PUTIN’S VISIT TO TÜRKİYE Answering reporters’ questions following his remarks, President Erdoğan, in response to a question regarding the extension of the grain corridor agreement, said that he expects President Vladimir Putin of Russia to pay a visit to Türkiye next month, and added: “If Mr. Putin visits Türkiye, we will definitely discuss this issue. We will address the issue during our bilateral meeting. Ukraine says they stand ready to do their part on this issue. During our meeting, I expect the same attitude from Mr. Putin as well. I believe that Mr. Putin will display the same stance as he has done so far. In the meantime, our relevant officials discuss this issue thoroughly with their counterparts.” Responding to a question as to what kind of an attitude Türkiye will display regarding Sweden’s NATO membership, President Erdoğan noted that the final decision concerning this issue belong to the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (GNAT). Further stating that it is impossible to take any step here so long as the GNAT does not take any decision regarding the issue, President Erdoğan drew attention to the delivery of the F-16s, and said: “They say that it should be approved by the Congress. If they have a Congress, we have the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye. If it does not pass at the GNAT, we cannot say, ‘I say it, and it is done.’” MEETING WITH PRESIDENT BIDEN OF THE U.S. As regards the delivery of the F-16s, President Erdoğan pointed to the phone call he made last night with President Biden of the U.S., and said that President Biden told him that he will mobilize all the means in hand for the issue. Noting that he expects the same from him, but that theirs is totally a different issue, President Erdoğan drew attention to the fight against terror, and added: “We have firm stance on this issue. While we continue our fight against terror, DAESH in particular, we have brought the issue of Finland to our Parliament since Finland is not involved in terror. And our Parliament cleared the way and the job is done. However, the F-16 issue is totally different. We, with the steps we as two NATO-ally countries will take here, will further strengthen ourselves against all the enemies of NATO. We have made payments to you. We have made payments regarding F-35s: 1.45 billion dollars. We have yet to receive the return of this payment. We discussed all this. Obviously, we will have a narrow-scoped meeting in Vilnius. We will discuss these issues with him at these narrow-scoped meetings. I hope that we will overcome this problem through these talks. We are also upset that this issue is related to Sweden. They are two different issues. We will tell him all this once again. I hope that we will get an auspicious outcome.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan and Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler are accompanying the President on his visit to Lithuania.