Turkey approves Sweden’s NATO membership after demands are met
Turkey has agreed to Sweden’s NATO membership after talks in Vilnius. Following negotiations with Turkish President Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced the outcome on Twitter. Stoltenberg calls it a historic step that will make the alliance stronger and safer.
According to Stoltenberg, Erdogan has promised to submit Sweden’s accession treaty to parliament as soon as possible. The Turkish president will also work closely with the parliament to ensure that the ratification is in order. Ahead of his trip to Vilnius, Erdogan had made statements that seemed to further delay Sweden’s accession to NATO. He demanded that the European Union resume stalled talks with his country on EU membership before Turkey would agree to Swedish accession. In response, EU member Sweden met Erdogan’s expectations by saying it would actively support Turkey’s EU process, visa liberalization and the modernization of the EU-Turkey customs union.
Hungary will also ratify
Turkey and Hungary were the only NATO members that had not yet agreed to Sweden’s membership. Following Erdogan’s endorsement of Sweden’s NATO membership, Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Peter Szijjarto said: “Our position on Sweden is also clear: our government supports joining NATO, which is why we submitted a proposal to parliament a few months ago. The finalization of the accession process is now a technical matter”.
Special Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism in NATO
The agreements between the countries were announced in a statement on NATO’s website. According to the statement, both countries agreed that “counter-terrorism cooperation is a long-term effort that will continue beyond Sweden’s accession to NATO”. Secretary General Stoltenberg also reiterated NATO’s categorical condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The statement notes that NATO will significantly step up its work in this area, including through the Secretary General’s establishing of a Special Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism, a first in NATO.
US greenlights for F-16s after Turkey’s approval
Ahead of the NATO summit, the US issued a statement on the sale of F-16s to Turkey. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that US President Biden was clear and unequivocal on sending F-16s to Turkey, adding that the move was in the interest of both the US and NATO. Sullivan continued his statement as follows: “He (Biden) has placed no caveats or conditions on that in his public or private comments over the past few months and he intends to move forward with that transfer and consultation with Congress. We will work with the Congress on the appropriate timing for getting them to Türkiye. But I can’t speculate on the precise day it’s going to happen, only that we support it getting done.”
In October 2021, Turkey requested F-16 jets and modernization kits from the US. The deal would include the sale of 40 jets and modernization kits for 79 aircraft already in the Turkish Air Force inventory.