Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has stated that his country will support Sweden’s bid to join NATO if the European Union initiates membership talks with Turkey.
President Erdogan plans to convey this demand at the upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania.
President Erdogan has already informed US President Joe Biden of his intentions regarding Sweden’s NATO membership aspirations. His remarks precede a meeting with Sweden’s Prime Minister and NATO’s Secretary General in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.
As a NATO member, Turkey holds the power to veto the entry of any new country into the alliance. Turkey has previously expressed concerns regarding what it perceives as Stockholm’s willingness to host Kurdish militants.
However, President Erdogan acknowledged that Sweden has taken some positive steps by amending anti-terror laws, though he still has remaining grievances.
While Hungary has also been hesitant in supporting Sweden’s NATO bid, it has indicated that it will not further delay the process if Turkey changes its stance.
Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary General, stated on Monday that there is still a possibility of a “positive decision” regarding Sweden’s NATO membership during the upcoming two-day conference.
He added that Sweden joining Nato would “strengthen our ability to defend and protect not least the Baltic region”.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, meanwhile, has dismissed Mr Erdogan’s idea of a reciprocal agreement.
“Sweden meets all the requirements for Nato membership,” he told reporters in Berlin. “The other question is one that is not connected with it.”
A spokeswoman for the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, said membership to the bloc could only be granted by following procedure.
“The European Union has a very structured process of enlargement and a very, very clear set of steps that need to be taken by all candidate countries and even by those that wish to become candidate countries,” said Dana Spinant.
Over a year ago, Sweden, along with Finland, initiated a bid to join NATO, prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland successfully became the 31st member of the alliance in April, after Turkey withdrew objections that were akin to those it currently has regarding Sweden’s application.
It’s worth noting that Turkey’s pursuit of EU membership has been stalled for several years. In 2016, EU members voted to suspend talks on the matter due to concerns over Turkey’s crackdown on dissenters following a failed coup attempt that same year.
Nevertheless, relations between Turkey and the EU have improved since then, with the EU relying on Turkey’s assistance on various issues, including migration.
In summary, Sweden and Finland launched bids to join NATO in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. While Finland has already gained membership, Turkey’s objections currently hinder Sweden’s application.
Turkey’s own EU membership process has been suspended, though relations between Turkey and the EU have shown signs of improvement.