In a historic move, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to allow Sweden to join North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) after a year of blocking the move, as the countries ironed out their differences through talks in Vilnius city.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced this move on Monday and informed that Erdogan gave a nod to Sweden’s membership bid.
“Completing Sweden’s accession to NATO is a historic decision. The step will benefit the security of all NATO allies at this critical time. It will strengthen all of us,” Stoltenberg said.
Swedish prime minister Ulf Ulf Kristersson also expressed his joy over the move and said, “I am very happy and hailed a good day for Sweden”.
However, Hungary is also yet to approve Sweden’s membership bid and the country has vowed it will not be the last to make the step, implying it will move soon.
Following the Sweden and Turkey agreement, US President Joe Biden also welcomed the move and said, “I look forward to welcoming PM Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd NATO ally.”
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock welcomed the “good news” on Twitter.
“Good news from Vilnius: The way is finally clear for Turkey to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership. Our joint efforts have paid off. At 32, we’re all safer together. Happy birthday Sweden!” she tweeted in German.
A joint statement issued after three-way talks stated Turkey and Sweden stated that the countries would work closely on “counterterrorism coordination” and boost trade ties.
Why was Turkey stopping Sweden’s bid?
Notably, NATO membership required the approval of all of its alliance’s members and Sweden was on its final track to get the nod for the NATO alliance but Turkey has held up it since last year.
The main reason Turkey was not approving the membership of Sweden was because of its concerns over its sovereignty.
Turkey was accusing Stockholm of harboring Kurdish militants, an ethnic minority in Turkey, whom Ankara regards as “terrorists”.
A series of anti-Islam activities in Stockholm also promoted Turkish Erdogan for not backing Sweden.
