Vilnius, Lithuania – In a significant breakthrough, Sweden has secured permission to join NATO as Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to set aside his veto and recommend Sweden’s application to his parliament. The decision, reached during last-minute talks on the eve of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, marks the end of nearly a year of negotiations and brinkmanship by Turkey.
The announcement was made by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who had overseen the discussions between President Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Vilnius. Stoltenberg stated at a press conference, “I’m glad to announce … that President Erdoğan has agreed to forward the accession protocol for Sweden to the grand national assembly as soon as possible, and work closely with the assembly to ensure ratification.”
Prime Minister Kristersson hailed the breakthrough as a significant step towards membership, expressing his satisfaction with the outcome. While the exact timeline for Sweden’s integration into the alliance was not specified, Erdogan’s commitment to push for ratification in parliament swiftly is a positive development. Notably, it took two weeks for Turkey’s parliament to ratify Finland’s NATO membership.
Hungary is another country yet to approve Sweden’s membership, but Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government has assured that it will not be the last to take this step, suggesting that it will likely follow suit in due course.
The news of Sweden’s NATO membership was met with widespread support and praise. U.S. President Joe Biden, who had held discussions with Erdogan prior to his European visit, welcomed the decision and expressed readiness to collaborate with Turkey on enhancing defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted, “This is an historic moment for NATO that makes us all safer. Sweden, we look forward to welcoming you into the Alliance.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock described the development as good news, emphasizing the importance of unity and safety with all 32 allies at the table. She further expressed her congratulations to Sweden, highlighting the joint efforts that had paid off.
The agreement reached during the three-way talks between NATO, Turkey, and Sweden also emphasized the strengthening of counter-terrorism coordination and bilateral trade ties between the two countries. Additionally, Sweden pledged active support for revitalizing Turkey’s EU accession process, including the modernization of the EU-Turkey Customs Union and visa liberalization. Ankara received reassurances from Stockholm that it would not support terrorist organizations, and both nations committed to establishing a new bilateral security mechanism.
Erdogan briefly paused his discussions with Stoltenberg and Kristersson for a side meeting with Charles Michel, the President of the European Council. Michel described the meeting as productive, stating that they explored opportunities to rejuvenate EU-Turkey cooperation and re-energize bilateral relations.
While EU members remain cautious about Turkey’s commitment to democratic and rule of law reforms, German Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized that Sweden and Turkey’s ambitions should not be linked. He affirmed that Sweden meets all the requirements for NATO membership, emphasizing the separate nature of Turkey’s EU accession discussions.
Sweden’s path to NATO membership faced considerable obstacles due to Turkey’s objections over the past year. Earlier on the day of the breakthrough, Erdogan had introduced fresh demands, calling for the EU to reopen talks on Turkey’s accession to the EU before considering Sweden’s application. Turkey has been engaged in discussions on EU membership since 1987, but negotiations have stalled since 2018, with reservations about admitting a country with questionable human rights records on such a large scale.
While Finland successfully joined NATO earlier this year, Sweden’s path encountered hurdles as Erdogan claimed that Sweden had not done enough to address Kurdish separatist demonstrations in the country. However, in May, Swedish lawmakers tightened the country’s anti-terrorism laws, aiming to assure Turkey that measures were in place to combat exiled members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Kurdish militia groups, and the Fetö organization linked to exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen.
With Turkey’s support now secured, Sweden can anticipate a future within NATO, bolstering regional security and fostering closer ties with alliance members. The path to NATO membership will undoubtedly have a transformative impact on Sweden’s defense and foreign policy, while contributing to NATO’s collective strength and unity in an ever-evolving global security landscape.
