Turkiye Agrees to Allow Sweden Joining NATO

Ankara – President of Turkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to support Sweden's bid to join NATO after a year of blocking the move, citing Turkish security concerns.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Monday local time that Erdogan agreed to forward Sweden's membership application to the Turkish parliament.

Following talks in Vilnius, Lithuania, with Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Stoltenberg said that Turkiye had agreed to move forward.

"I am pleased to announce that President Erdogan has agreed to forward Sweden's accession protocol to the Grand National Assembly as soon as possible and to work with the assembly to ensure ratification," Stoltenberg told a press conference on Tuesday.

"This is a historic day." NATO membership requires the approval of all military alliance members.

Turkiye has been holding up Sweden's NATO accession since last year, accusing Stockholm of harboring Kurdish activists whom Ankara considers "terrorists".

A series of demonstrations in Stockholm have led to a series of protests. A series of demonstrations in Stockholm, including anti-Islam activists burning Korans, have also angered Turkish officials.

A joint statement issued after the three-way talks said that Turkiye and Sweden would cooperate in "counterterrorism coordination" and improve trade relations.

Earlier on Monday, Erdogan had raised the stakes further by demanding that the EU revive Turkiye's stalled membership bid as a condition for Sweden to join NATO.

This surprise announcement from Erdogan before leaving for the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital added new uncertainty to Sweden's bid to become the 32nd member of the alliance.

This is the first time Erdogan has linked his country's ambitions to join the European Union with Sweden's bid for NATO membership.

"Turkiye has been waiting at the doorstep of the European Union for more than 50 years, and almost all NATO member states are now members of the European Union," President Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul.

"I make this appeal to the countries that have kept Turkiye waiting at the EU's gate for more than 50 years," he added.

"Come and open the way for Turkiye's membership in the European Union. When you open the way for Turkiye, we will open the way for Sweden as we did for Finland,"

Meanwhile, the United States President Joe Biden also praised President Erdogan's commitment to Sweden's bid to join NATO.

"I ready to work with President Erdogan and Turkey to improve defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic region," Biden said.

"I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd NATO ally. And, I thank Secretary General Stoltenberg for his steadfast leadership," the White House statement said.