Türkiye gave the green light to Sweden’s entry into NATO: what’s next

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said late on Monday that Turkey had agreed to back Sweden’s bid to join the military alliance, a milestone ahead of the organization’s summit. The announcement is a stunning statement by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who previously suggested that Sweden could only join the alliance after his country was admitted to the European Union. Erdogan prevented Sweden from joining NATO for more than a year due to many problems.

Speaking at a press conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, following a meeting with Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Stoltenberg said that the Turkish President “agreed to forward the protocol for Sweden’s accession to the Grand National Assembly as soon as possible and to work closely with the Assembly to ensure ratification”.

Erdogan’s withdrawal from his opposition marks an important step forward, but does not mean that Sweden will immediately become the next member of the alliance, CNN notes.

Jens Stoltenberg did not give specific dates when Erdogan will submit the document to the Turkish parliament, which then has to vote for its approval. Hungary also did not vote to approve Sweden’s membership, although Stoltenberg said on Monday that Budapest had made it clear that it would not be the last to ratify Sweden’s application.

Asked by a reporter when Sweden could be expected to formally become a NATO member, Stoltenberg declined to answer, saying Turkey should make the announcement and preferred to focus on the merits of a “historic day.”

“I think we have to respect the fact that each parliament has its own integrity, its own time frame, so I applaud that the president has made it clear that he will work with parliament to ensure ratification, but the exact time must be announced by the Turkish Parliament,” Stoltenberg said, adding that the Turkish President’s decision was the result of a year of negotiations.

The movement to join NATO began after several months of opposition and demands from Ankara. Turkey has claimed that Sweden allows members of designated Kurdish groups, most notably the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), to operate on its territory. Turkey has also accused Swedish officials of complicity in Islamophobic demonstrations such as the burning of the Koran.

At his press conference on Monday, Stoltenberg noted that Sweden and Turkey have “cooperated closely to address Turkey’s legitimate security concerns.”

“As part of this process, Sweden has amended its constitution, changed its laws, greatly expanded its cooperation in the fight against terrorism against the PKK, and resumed arms exports to Turkey,” he said.

NATO said in a statement that additional commitments were made at the meeting between Stoltenberg, Erdogan and Kristersson.

The two countries agreed to continue cooperating on counterterrorism, and NATO will appoint a new special counterterrorism coordinator, the statement said. Sweden and Türkiye “also agreed to intensify economic cooperation.”

In addition, Sweden “will actively support efforts to intensify Turkey’s EU accession process,” the statement said.

US President Joe Biden, who is scheduled to meet with Erdogan on Tuesday evening, hailed the Turkish President’s commitment to “submit the Protocol of Accession of Sweden to the Turkish Grand National Assembly for prompt ratification.”

“I stand ready to work with President Erdogan and Turkey to strengthen defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area,” Biden said in a statement Monday.

Top US officials stepped up pressure on their counterparts in Ankara in the days leading up to the NATO summit. Biden spoke to Erdogan as he flew aboard the Air Force one Sunday. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke Monday with officials from Turkey and Sweden, respectively, in preparation for the summit. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan three times over five days, including on Monday morning.

The news, according to CNN, represents a major victory for Biden, who has consistently voiced confidence that Sweden will join the alliance at the Vilnius summit despite opposition from Turkey. The US president told CNN correspondent Farid Zakaria in an exclusive interview ahead of the summit that he was optimistic that Sweden would eventually be admitted to NATO, noting that Turkey was looking to modernize its fleet of F-16 fighter jets along with Greece, which voted in favor of acceptance of Sweden.

“Türkiye is looking for opportunities to modernize the F-16 aircraft. And (Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos) Mitsotakis in Greece is also looking for some help,” Biden said. “So what I’m trying to frankly put together is sort of a consortium here where we’re strengthening NATO in terms of both Greek and Turkish military capabilities and allowing Sweden to join the alliance. But it’s in the game. It’s not done yet.”