Turkey agreed Monday to allow Sweden to join NATO, setting the stage for the allies to showcase their unity at a summit focused on supporting Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed Monday to forward Sweden’s application to join NATO to his parliament for approval, the alliance’s head Jens Stoltenberg said.
Turkey has been blocking Sweden’s membership bid, accusing Stockholm of harboring Kurdish activists Ankara regards as terrorists.
Erdogan’s block on Sweden’s membership bid had cast a cloud over preparations for Tuesday’s meeting, but the countries ironed out their differences in eleventh-hour talks in Vilnius.
Hungary is also yet to greenlight Stockholm’s bid, but Prime Minister Viktor Orban has signalled he will follow Erdogan’s lead.
US President Joe Biden, also in Vilnius for the summit, thanked Stoltenberg and said: “I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd NATO ally.”
On Monday, Erdogan upped the stakes, demanding that the European Union revive Turkey’s stalled EU membership bid as a precondition for Sweden joining NATO.
In a statement after the three-way talks between Erdogan, Kristersson and Stoltenberg, Sweden vowed to boost to bilateral trade and anti-terrorism coordination.
“Sweden will actively support efforts to reinvigorate Türkiye’s EU accession process, including modernization of the Türkiye Customs Union and visa liberalization,” the statement said.
That agreement came after Erdogan paused his talks with Stoltenberg and Kristersson for a side meeting with EU chief Charles Michel, president of the European Council.
Michel hailed a “good meeting”, adding that they had “explored opportunities ahead to bring EU-Turkey cooperation back to the forefront and re-energize our relations”.
Turkey has been a formal candidate to join the European Union since 2005, and an aspirant since long before that, but talks have long been stalled with little sign of life.
But Monday’s statements imply Ankara and Brussels may move on boosting trade, updating their customs agreements and loosening visa rules in the absence of formal membership talks.
EU members remain skeptical of Ankara’s commitment to democratic and rule of law reforms, and Germany’s Olaf Scholz insisted Sweden and Turkey’s ambitions are not linked.
Separately, Ukraine welcomed a move forward in its fight for a guarantee that it will be able to join NATO as a full member if and when it defeats the Russian invasion.
A Western official said the allies will drop the requirement that Kyiv achieve a “Membership Action Plan”, a kind of road map to military reform that some allies have had to follow.
Ukraine’s foreign minister said this concession, which Moscow warned would have serious consequences for European security, would shorten Kyiv’s path to NATO membership.
“Ukraine deserves to be in the alliance. Not now, because now there’s war, but we need a clear signal and this signal is needed right now,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message posted on Telegram.
But NATO leaders remain divided over offering Ukraine a clear route into the alliance in Vilnius.
US President Joe Biden dropped in for tea and climate change talks with King Charles III on Monday, after a garden meeting with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before a NATO leaders’ summit.
Biden’s whistle-stop visit to London came with Ukraine pushing to join NATO once its war with Russia is over.
Washington is seen as the most hesitant about its membership. Biden has described Kyiv’s bid as “premature”.
Western allies agree that Ukraine cannot become a member while war is still raging, as it would pull the alliance into direct conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.
Georges Haddad, with AFP
