U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Turkey appears ready to ratify Sweden’s membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the coming weeks.
Blinken raised Sweden’s request during his meeting on Saturday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the first day of a week-long tour in the region to discuss the conflict in Gaza.
The American minister told reporters in Greece: “We also talked in Turkey about the final steps in the process of ratifying Sweden’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the coming weeks.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also met his American counterpart, confirming to him Ankara’s expectation for Washington to decide on the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, clarifying that the final decision regarding Sweden’s NATO membership rests with the Turkish Parliament.
Sweden applied for membership in 2022 after the war in Ukraine, but the Turkish president expressed objections to what he described as Stockholm’s protection of individuals Ankara considers “terrorists.”
In response, American legislators halted the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey until it agrees to Sweden’s accession.
Sweden’s bid to join NATO marks a significant shift in its long-standing policy of military non-alignment. This historic move was announced in May 2022 by Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, largely in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This decision ended more than 200 years of Sweden’s military non-alignment, reflecting a major change in the nation’s security policy due to the new and dangerous realities faced in Europe and the Nordic region.
However, Sweden’s NATO bid faced initial opposition from Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised concerns about Sweden (and Finland) providing sanctuary to individuals and groups Turkey deems as “terrorists”, particularly those linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and followers of the cleric Fethullah Gulen. Despite this, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expressed confidence that the concerns raised by Turkey could be addressed, noting that the accession of Sweden and Finland would significantly strengthen NATO’s presence in the Baltic Sea.
The decision on Sweden’s NATO membership requires the approval of all 30 NATO member states and their parliaments. This process highlights the complexities and geopolitical sensitivities involved in the expansion of the alliance, especially in the context of rising tensions between NATO and Russia.
