Turkey on Monday agreed to move forward on allowing Sweden into NATO after delaying Stockholm’s accession to the defensive alliance for more than a year.
The breakthrough was announced by NATO Secretary-General Jans Stoltenberg, who said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed to forward Sweden’s accession protocol for ratification in the Turkish parliament.
“This is a historic step which makes all NATO allies stronger and safer,” Stoltenberg tweeted.
The question of Sweden’s membership was among the biggest issues on the agenda at this week’s NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The 31-member alliance is seeking to project unity and solidarity as one of Ukraine’s most important supporters as it pushes back Russia 16 months into the war.
Turkey was the last hurdle facing Sweden’s bid to join the alliance after Hungary last week signaled it would not stand in the way once Ankara approved.
The announcement of the agreement followed a meeting between Erdoğan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who were photographed shaking hands.
The Turkish president had held back on moving forward with Sweden’s accession to NATO as late as Monday morning, saying that Turkey would not move forward on admitting Stockholm to the alliance until assurances were made to admit Ankara to the European Union.
The U.S. had pushed back on linking Turkey’s efforts to join the EU with Sweden’s admittance to the alliance. President Biden and his top officials had engaged in intensive lobbying with Erdogan and Turkish officials in the lead up to the Vilnius Summit, which will run from July 11 and 12.
Erdoğan had long protested what he said was Sweden’s leniency toward the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist group by the U.S., EU and Turkey.
The agreement reached Monday includes an enforcement of a trilateral memorandum, first announced last year, between Finland, Turkey and Sweden, to jointly cooperate on combating terrorism.
As part of the reformation commitment to join the alliance, Sweden has also agreed to expand counter-terrorism operations against the PKK and resume the sale of arms to Turkey.
Turkey and Sweden will also increase economic cooperation and trade, while Stockholm will support Ankara’s accession to the EU, according to a press release on the agreement.
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#BREAKING: Turkey agrees to advance Sweden’s NATO membership, Stoltenberg says https://t.co/mQ9jxAyr2m pic.twitter.com/Btbe5RQDDx
— The Hill (@thehill) July 10, 2023
Putin and his regime have accomplished the astonishing feat of amassing a hemispheric alliance against Russia that will represent nearly 1 BILLION people, and likely to get even larger.
And for what? For nothing. For an aging chekist's fever dreams in a bunker. https://t.co/NCttph68iw
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) July 10, 2023More than 25 years ago, I was arguing for a go-slow approach on NATO expansion. We were dealing with Yeltsin, not Putin, and there were still a lot of possibilities for cooperation.
Putin destroyed all of that, and helped create the new NATO: 32 nations and a billion people.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) July 10, 2023
For two centuries Sweden was neutral. Putins disastrous decision to invade Ukraine last year ended Swedish neutrality today.
— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) July 10, 2023
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