No longer opposed by Türkiye, Sweden has a wide path to join NATO

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 10 agreed to give Sweden the green light to become the 32nd member of the NATO military alliance, ending months of tension over an issue that has strained the bloc amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last May, abandoning the military non-alignment policies they had maintained throughout decades of the Cold War, in search of collective security amid concerns about Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.

While Finland’s NATO membership was approved in April and Helsinki became the alliance’s 31st member, Türkiye and Hungary have blocked Sweden’s application for membership. The parties have been working closely together in the days leading up to the 74th NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg chairs a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Vilnius, Lithuania, July 10, 2023. Photo: NY Post

“I am pleased to announce... that President Erdogan has agreed to transmit Sweden’s NATO accession instrument to the Grand National Assembly (the Turkish parliament) as soon as possible and to work closely with it to ensure its ratification,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a late-night press conference on July 10 after hosting Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Vilnius.

Describing it as “a historic step that benefits the security of all NATO allies at this critical time,” Stoltenberg said he could not give a specific timetable for approving Sweden’s membership. It took two weeks for the Turkish parliament to ratify Finland’s membership.

With the remaining Nordic country joining the military alliance, The Economist reports that it means the Baltic Sea has essentially become a “NATO Sea.”

Swedish and Finnish military vehicles during a NATO exercise in Evenes, Norway, March 2022. Photo: The Guardian

Earlier on July 10, Stockholm's prospects for NATO membership became even more uncertain when President Erdogan stunned European leaders with a surprise announcement that he would not approve Sweden's application unless they paved the way for Turkey to join the European Union (EU), in comments to reporters before leaving for Lithuania for the summit.

Any candidate’s application to join NATO must be approved by all members of the bloc. After Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff said on July 6 that Budapest would no longer block Sweden’s NATO membership, Türkiye’s approval would remove the final hurdle for Stockholm.

The US and its allies have been trying to pressure Ankara for months. Some NATO partners believe that Turkey — which in October 2021 requested $20 billion in F-16 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin Corp (US) and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing fighters — has used Sweden’s membership to pressure Washington over the fighter jet deal .

Minh Duc (According to Reuters, Kyodo News, The Economist)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/khong-con-bi-tho-nhi-ky-phan-doi-thuy-dien-rong-duong-gia-nhap-nato-a616557.html