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Turkey agrees to Sweden’s NATO bid
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to support Sweden’s bid to join NATO, the alliance’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said Monday.
Stoltenberg tweeted that Erdogan met with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and came to an agreement about Sweden’s membership in NATO, hours after Erdogan said the European Union should first consider his country’s admission to the EU.
In a news conference Monday, Stoltenberg said that Erdogan intends to submit the ratification documents to the Turkish parliament “as soon as possible,” but declined to offer “exact dates.”
He added, “And then of course it is for the parliament then to … have the process and then do the final ratification.”
Hungary, too, has opposed Sweden’s bid to join NATO, but Stoltenberg said that Hungary would not be “the last to ratify.” So, now that Turkey has agreed to Sweden’s accession, “I think that the problem will be solved,” he added.
President Biden, who has supported Sweden’s induction into NATO amid the Russian invasion of Ukriane, hailed the agreement.
NATO member countries are meeting this week in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Stoltenberg offered only a broad description of how Turkey had arrived at its decision to support Sweden’s accession.
“What we have seen is that we have been able to reconcile the concerns that Turkey has expressed with the concerns that Sweden has expressed and then we have been able to find a joint ground common ground, and then move forward based on that,” he said.
Turkey’s communications directorate said in a statement on Sunday that Sweden had “taken some steps in the right direction by making changes in the anti-terrorism legislation,” but it criticized Sweden for allowing protests by organizations that Turkey has designated terrorist groups, including the pro-Kurdish PKK and YPG.
Turkey has also criticized Sweden for allowing protests that involved the burning of the Quran.
Sweden had applied to join NATO along with Finland, which was also initially blocked by Turkey. But Finland and Turkey worked out an agreement, and in April, Finland became the 31st country to join the alliance.
As for Erdogan’s comments about Turkey joining the EU, Stoltenberg noted that he could not speak for the EU. Turkey has long sought membership to the EU, with the organization saying in 1999 that it would formally consider their application. After the 2004 enlargement — which did not include Turkey — the EU adopted a framework for negotiations, but there has been no progress since then.
Olivia Gazis contributed to this report.
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CBS News
Kamala Harris will speak with “60 Minutes” tomorrow. Here’s what to know for the interview.
Voters will get the chance to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday as she presents her case for why she should be president in a “60 Minutes” election special.
For decades, “60 Minutes” has featured both Republican and Democratic nominees for presidents, but this year, former President Donald Trump backed out after previously indicating he would be on the show. Correspondent Scott Pelley, who’d been set to interview Trump, will instead travel to Arizona’s Maricopa County, home to more than 60% of Arizona’s voters and a critical battleground in a key swing state.
One thing is certain about the election; with the U.S. deeply involved in both the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, whoever wins on Nov. 5 will become a wartime president.
What Harris will discuss
Israel’s war started one year ago after Hamas launched a surprise terror attack and correspondent Bill Whitaker will discuss the ongoing war with Harris.
Harris will also discuss the economy, immigration, her record as vice president and the differences between herself and Trump.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz will also appear.
Whitaker joined the Democratic ticket on the campaign trail this week to gain insight into their platform’s priorities and values, and what the candidates believe voters should know.
Why Trump pulled out of the “60 Minutes” interview
Leading up to the candidate hour, Trump, through campaign spokespeople, was the first candidate to accept the “60 Minutes” request to be interviewed for the special, according to CBS News. It had been agreed that both candidates would receive equal time during the broadcast.
Trump last sat down with 60 Minutes in 2020. He walked out during the interview with Lesley Stahl. Trump referenced the incident on Tuesday night at a Milwaukee press conference when asked about his decision not to participate in the Oct. 7 “60 Minutes” election special.
“Well, right now, I went to – they came to me and would like me to do an interview, but first I want to get an apology, because the last time I did an interview with them, if you remember, they challenged me on the computer,” Trump said. “They said the ‘laptop from hell’ was from Russia, and I said it wasn’t from Russia. It was from Hunter, and I never got an apology, so I’m sort of waiting. I’d love to do ’60 Minutes.’ I do everything.”
The Republican nominee for president emphasized that he felt he was owed an apology from “60 Minutes.”
“Let’s see if they do it. I wouldn’t mind doing 60,” Trump continued. “I’ve done ’60 Minutes’ a lot.”
In a statement on Tuesday, Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said that Trump’s team had not agreed to an interview.
“Fake News,” Cheung said in a post on X. “60 Minutes begged for an interview, even after they were caught lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop back in 2020. There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in. They also insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented.”
Previous Trump, Harris appearances on 60 Minutes
Trump previously sat down with “60 Minutes'” Mike Wallace in 1985, Pelley in 2015 and Lesley Stahl twice in 2016, first in July of that year and then again in November of 2016. He also spoke with Stahl again in 2018 and 2020.
Harris previously sat down with Whitaker last year. She also was interviewed by Norah O’Donnell, “CBS Evening News” anchor and “60 Minutes” contributing correspondent, in 2020.
How to watch the “60 Minutes” election special
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