Stoltenberg made the announcement after talks with Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on the eve of a NATO summit in Lithuania. Sweden’s NATO accession has been held up by objections from Turkey since last year.

“This is an historic day because we have a clear commitment by Turkey to submit the ratification documents to the Grand National Assembly, and to work also with the assembly to ensure ratification,” Stoltenberg told reporters.

Earlier Monday, with NATO hoping to put on a public display of unity in its support for Ukraine more than 500 days into the war, Erdogan said that he would block Sweden’s path unless European members of the military organization “pave the way” for Turkey to join the world’s biggest trading bloc.

His surprise announcement added new uncertainty to Sweden’s bid to become the alliance’s 32nd member. Turkey was already blocking its entry because Erdogan believes that Sweden has been too soft on Kurdish militants and other groups that he considers to be security threats.

On arriving in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, where U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts will hold two days of talks starting on Tuesday, Erdogan first met with Kristersson, before breaking off for a separate meeting with European Council President Charles Michel.

Michel tweeted that he and Erdogan had “explored opportunities ahead to bring cooperation back to the forefront and re-energise our relations.” Michel said he has tasked the European Commission to draw up a “report with a view to proceed in strategic and forward-looking manner.”

Turkey is a candidate to join the EU, but its membership talks have been at a standstill since 2018 due to democratic backsliding during Erdogan’s presidency, concerns about the rule of law and rights abuses, as well as disputes with EU-member Cyprus.

Erdogan’s new demand was the first time that he had linked his country’s ambition to join the EU with Sweden’s efforts to become a NATO member.

“Turkey has been waiting at the door of the European Union for over 50 years now, and almost all of the NATO member countries are now members of the European Union,” Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul. “I am making this call to these countries that have kept Turkey waiting at the gates of the European Union for more than 50 years.”

“Come and open the way for Turkey’s membership in the European Union. When you pave the way for Turkey, we’ll pave the way for Sweden as we did for Finland,” he added.

Earlier, Erdogan’s office said he told U.S. President Joe Biden during a telephone call Sunday that Turkey wanted a “clear and strong” message of support for Turkey’s EU ambitions from the NATO leaders. The White House readout of the Biden-Erdogan call did not mention the issue of Turkish EU membership.

“Turkey has been waiting at the door of the European Union for over 50 years now, and almost all of the NATO member countries are now members of the European Union,” Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul, before flying to Vilnius.

“I am making this call to these countries that have kept Turkey waiting at the gates of the European Union for more than 50 years,” he said. “Come and open the way for Turkey’s membership in the European Union. When you pave the way for Turkey, we’ll pave the way for Sweden, as we did for Finland.”

Earlier, Erdogan’s office said he told U.S. President Joe Biden during a telephone call Sunday that Turkey wanted a “clear and strong” message of support for Turkey’s EU ambitions from the NATO leaders. The White House readout of the Biden-Erdogan call did not mention the issue of Turkish EU membership.

Erdogan’s government has postponed ratifying Sweden’s accession, saying the administration in Stockholm needs to do more to crack down on Kurdish militants and other groups. A series of anti-Turkey and anti-Islam protests in Sweden’s capital raised doubts that an agreement to satisfy Turkey’s demands could be reached before the NATO summit.

Turkey’s delaying tactics have irritated other NATO allies including the United States. Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, confirmed Sunday that Biden and Erdogan had spoken about Sweden’s NATO membership among other issues and had agreed to meet in Vilnius for further talks.

Sullivan said the White House is confident Sweden will join the alliance.

“We don’t regard this as something that is fundamentally in doubt. This is a matter of timing. The sooner the better,” he said.

Previously non-aligned Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland joined in April following Turkish ratification.

Another key issue in Vilnius will be how to bring Ukraine closer to NATO without actually joining, and security guarantees Kyiv might need to ensure that Russia doesn’t invade again after the war ends. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky will join the summit in person on Wednesday.

Stoltenberg said the most important thing was to continue to support Ukraine’s efforts to resist the Russian invasion.

“Unless Ukraine prevails there is no membership issue to discuss at all,” he said.

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. AP White House reporter Chris Megerian in London contributed to this report.

In a speech delivered during the inauguration of a highway in central Turkey, Erdogan also said the sanctions would increase his government’s determination to make the Turkish defense industry stronger and more independent.

The U.S. sanctions, imposed on Monday over Turkey’s procurement of Russia’s advanced S-400 system, are part of a U.S. law known as CAATSA, which are aimed at pushing back on Russian influence.

The move is the first time that the law has been used to penalize a U.S. ally.

They target Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries, Ismail Demir and three other senior officials. The penalties block any assets the four officials may have in U.S. jurisdictions and bar their entry into the U.S. They also include a ban on most export licenses, loans and credits to the agency.

“The real aim (of the sanctions) is to block the progress that we have made lately in the defense industry and to make us once again strictly dependent on (the United States),” Erdogan said. “If it weren’t the S-400 issue, they would have used other issues.”

Erdogan added: “What will happen now? We will work twice as hard as in the past to make our defense industry independent in all aspects and to hasten projects undertaken by our Presidency of Defense Industries. We will provide even greater support to our defense industry companies.”

The U.S. had previously kicked Turkey out of its F-35 stealth jet program, saying their use alongside the Russian technology would jeopardize the safety of the fighter jets. Washington also says the Russian system wouldn’t be interoperable with NATO systems.

Turkey had insisted that the Russian technology is no risk to NATO systems because they wouldn’t be integrated into defense strategies involving the S-400s.

Erdogan on Mondays reiterated Turkey’s position that Ankara wasn’t offered the U.S. Patriot systems, leaving it with no other option but to buy the Russian system for its national security.

The United States says talks on a potential Patriot deal failed over Turkey’s insistence on technology transfer rights that would have allowed it eventually to make the missiles themselves. This ran against U.S. manufacturers’ propriety interests in addition to any national security concerns.

Turkey took delivery of the S-400 missiles in the summer of 2019 and tested them for the first time in October.

Angela Merkel’s comments on Sunday in Berlin follow the death of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist.

A man appearing to wear Khashoggi’s clothes left the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul following his killing there, according to a surveillance video, while a member of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s entourage made four calls to the royal’s office around the same time, reports said Monday.

German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier underlined Merkel’s point Monday, calling for a joint European position, as Germany “won’t at this point approve any further arms exports because we want to know what happened.”

Turkish media reports and officials maintain that a 15-member Saudi team flew to Istanbul on Oct. 2, knowing Khashoggi would arrive for a document he needed to get married. Once he was inside the diplomatic mission, the Saudis accosted Khashoggi, cut off his fingers, killed and dismembered the 59-year-old writer.

The kingdom claims Khashoggi died in a “fistfight.”

Britain, Germany and France issued a joint statement condemning the killing of Khashoggi, saying there is an “urgent need for clarification of exactly what happened.”

In a statement Sunday, the governments said attacks on journalists are unacceptable and “of utmost concern to our three nations.” They said the “hypotheses” proposed so far in the Saudi investigation need to be backed by facts to be considered credible.

CNN aired surveillance footage on Monday showing the man in Khashoggi’s dress shirt, suit jacket and pants. It cited a Turkish official as describing the man as a “body double” and a member of the Saudi team sent to Istanbul to target the writer. The man is seen in the footage walking out of the consulate via its back exit with an accomplice, then taking a taxi to Istanbul’s famed Sultan Ahmed Mosque, where he went into a public bathroom, changed back out of the clothes and left.

The state-run broadcaster TRT later also reported that a man who entered the consulate building was seen leaving the building in Khashoggi’s clothes.

In the days after Khashoggi vanished, Saudi officials initially said that he had left the consulate, implying premeditation on the part of the Saudi team.

A separate report by newspaper Yeni Safak said Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, a member of Prince Mohammed’s entourage on trips to the United States, France and Spain this year, made the calls from the consulate. The newspaper said the four calls went to Bader al-Asaker, the head of Prince Mohammed’s office. It said another call went to the United States.

Yeni Safak cited no source for the information. However, pro-government newspapers have been leaking information about Khashoggi’s killing, apparently with the help of Turkish security forces. Yeni Safak reported last week that Saudi officials cut off Khashoggi’s fingers and then decapitated him at the consulate as his fiancée waited outside.

Officials in Saudi Arabia have not answered repeated requests for comment from The Associated Press in recent days, including on Monday. Saudi Arabia so far has not acknowledged or explained Mutreb’s presence in Istanbul — nor that a forensics and autopsy expert was also on hand for Khashoggi’s arrival at the consulate.

Meanwhile, Saudi state media reported that both Prince Mohammed and King Salman made calls to Khashoggi’s son, Salah, early on Monday morning. Statements from the agency said both the king and the crown prince expressed their condolences for Khashoggi’s death.

A Saudi friend of Khashoggi who was in frequent touch with him before his death told AP that Salah Khashoggi had been under a travel ban and barred from leaving the kingdom since last year as a result of his father’s criticism of the government. The friend spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussion. The Saudi statements did not acknowledge the ban.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Sunday told Fox News that Khashoggi’s killing was “a rogue operation” and that “we don’t know where the body is.”

“The individuals who did this did this outside the scope of their authority,” he said. “There obviously was a tremendous mistake made and what compounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover up. That is unacceptable to the government.”

However, leading Republicans and Democrats in Congress are saying Saudi Arabia should face punishment over Khashoggi’s killing. President Donald Trump also had talked about possible punishment but said he didn’t want to halt proposed arms sales to Saudi Arabia because, he maintained, it would harm U.S. manufacturers.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

Erdogan appeared at a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was in Ankara for his first foreign visit since his March 18 re-election. Both the defense system agreement and Putin’s visit underscore the intensifying ties between Turkey and Russia.

In December, they finalized a deal for Turkey to purchase Russia’s long-range S-400 missile defense system, raising eyebrows among some of Turkey’s fellow NATO members.

“We have made an agreement regarding the S-400s. That subject is closed. It’s a done deal,” Erdogan said.

The warming relations between the two countries stand in contrast to the souring relations between Russia and the West over the poisoning in Britain of a Russian ex-spy. Turkey’s relations with its Western allies also have deteriorated over human rights issues and its military operations against Kurdish militia in Syria.

The Turkish leader spoke of “attempts to poison Turkish-Russian cooperation” and added: “Thank God our relations navigated these difficult tests with success. With every failed provocation, our relationship strengthened, just like steel after iron is quenched with water.”

Putin said Russia will manufacture the S-400 missiles at a quicker pace than initially planned to deliver them more quickly per Ankara’s request.

“We have decided to speed up the delivery of those highly efficient systems,” he added.

Earlier, the two leaders symbolically launched the start of the construction of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, which will be built by Russia near the Mediterranean coast at Akkuyu.

Putin hailed the project as a symbol of growing cooperation between Russia and Turkey.

“We face the ambitious goal of launching the first reactor in 2023 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of Turkey,” the Russian leader said. “We agreed with my dear friend, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to do everything necessary to achieve that goal.”

Erdogan said the power plant would meet 10 percent of Turkey’s energy needs after all reactors become operational.

The Akkuyu plant is being built by Russia’s nuclear energy agency, Rosatom. The project is estimated to cost $20 billion.

Turkey and Russia have put aside their traditional rivalries and differences on regional issues to forge closer ties. Putin and Erdogan have met several times in the past year and regularly speak on the phone.

On Wednesday, Putin, Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani are expected to hold a summit in the Turkish capital of Ankara to discuss Syria’s future. The three countries are sponsoring a series of efforts in a bid to end the seven-year war.

Their cooperation comes despite having positions on opposing sides in the Syrian conflict. Moscow and Tehran have backed Syrian President Bashar Assad, while Turkey has supported the forces seeking to unseat him.

Associated Press writers Cinar Kiper in Istanbul and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed.

Erdogan said Turkey withdrew 40 of its soldiers participating in the drills at NATO’s Joint Warfare Centre in Stavanger, Norway, in protest of the incident and criticized the alliance.

“There can be no such unity, no such alliance,” he said in an address to his ruling party’s provincial leaders.

Details of the incident were sketchy. Erdogan said Ataturk’s picture and his own name were featured on an “enemy chart” during the drills.

The individual who posted the material was described as a Norwegian civil contractor seconded by Norway, and not a NATO employee.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg issued a statement saying: “I apologize for the offense caused.” He said the incident was the result of an “individual’s actions” and didn’t reflect the views of the alliance.

He added that the individual was removed from the exercise and an investigation was underway.

“It will be for the Norwegian authorities to decide on any disciplinary action,” Stoltenberg added. “Turkey is a valued NATO ally, which makes important contributions to allied security.”

Norwegian Defence Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen apologized for the incident.

“The message does not reflect Norway’s views or policies and I apologize for the content of the message,” Bakke-Jensen said in a statement. He added that “Turkey is an important ally in NATO, and we value our good cooperation.”

The Joint Warfare Centre is a multinational NATO unit based in Stavanger, 186 miles southwest of Oslo. It is currently led by Maj. Gen. Andrzej Reudowicz of Poland. According to its website, it has a staff of 250 made up of civilians from 11 NATO member states, including Turkey.

In March, the Norwegian government caused fury in Turkey by granting political asylum to five Turkish officers based in Norway who had refused to return home after the failed July 2016 coup attempt in Turkey. The five officers said that they feared being arrested and tortured in Turkey.

Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.