The chief of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation alliance on Tuesday said he is confident the agreement reached between Türkiye and Sweden is a “lasting” deal, along with the commitments made by Sweden paving the way to its Nato accession, Anadolu Agency reported.

“I’m absolutely confident that both Sweden and Türkiye will adhere to the agreement and also that this will continue after accession,” Nato Chief Jens Stoltenberg said in Vilnius, Lithuania for a two-day alliance summit when asked by Anadolu whether Nato will assume the guarantor role to push Sweden to fulfill its commitments after ratification as well.

A day earlier, he announced that Türkiye has agreed to send Sweden’s Nato Accession Protocol to parliament following a trilateral meeting between himself, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

Sweden’s accession to Nato after Finland joined this April has been one of the top items at the summit.

He also stressed a commitment to “ensure that we actually established last year in Madrid what we called a permanent mechanism to ensure the continued cooperation on the fighting terrorism,” referring to a tripartite pact Türkiye, Finland, and Sweden signed in Spain last June after the Nordic countries began their Nato membership processes.

“Just the fact that we have met many times since Madrid to step up our cooperation in the fight against terrorism demonstrates this is lasting agreement and the lasting commitment that will also be there after Sweden joins the alliance,” he added.

“Sweden agreed today, as an EU member, also to support actively the efforts to reinvigorate Türkiye’s EU [European Union] accession process, and also to help modernise the EU-Türkiye Customs Union and visa liberalisation,” he said, citing two longstanding issues Türkiye has had in relations with the EU.

Cooperation against terrorist threat

Earlier, Erdogan said the Turkish people expect steps forward from the EU as Türkiye does its part with Sweden’s Nato accession.

Stoltenberg underscored that Sweden’s cooperation with Türkiye in the fight against terrorism – one of the country’s top issues – will continue beyond accession, as both countries agreed to establish a new bilateral security compact, including a new special counter-terrorism coordinator for “stepping up its work in this area.”

In a joint statement following the meeting, Sweden reiterated that it will not support the YPG/PKK organisation or the Fetullah Organisation.

Turkish officials have often complained of a lack of cooperation and support from its allies in countering the terrorist threat the country faces.

The Nordic countries also agreed to work towards eliminating sanctions and removing obstacles in defense trade and investments among allies.

A top Turkish official also said Türkiye received “full support” for its EU accession process, including the lifting of sanctions and visa liberalisation.