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Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has agreed to support Sweden’s membership of Nato, the military alliance has said, paving the way for the Nordic country to join the US-led bloc after more than a year of opposition from Ankara.
Erdoğan’s decision to lift his veto, after a last-ditch meeting with the leaders of Sweden and Nato on Monday evening, came after Turkey’s president linked his support for Stockholm’s accession to Turkey’s long-stalled EU bid.
The lifting of Erdoğan’s block, which came after Stockholm made fresh anti-terrorism pledges, opens the way for Turkey’s parliament to approve Swedish entry into the US-led military alliance, a step seen as critical to strengthening the defence of eastern Europe in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey’s president agreed to “forward the accession protocol for Sweden [to join Nato] to the Grand National Assembly as soon as possible and work closely with the assembly to ensure ratification”, Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said after hours of negotiations with the leaders of Turkey and Sweden.
Stoltenberg described the decision as a “clear commitment” from Turkey’s president, but when asked how soon Sweden could become a member of Nato he said it was “not for me to go into the details of the timelines of the different political institutions in Turkey”.
Turkey had not issued an official statement by the time Stoltenberg concluded his press conference on Monday evening.
Turkey’s parliament is controlled by a coalition led by Erdoğan’s Justice and Development party, meaning that the legislature is expected to pass the measure now that it has the president’s approval.
Erdoğan had earlier on Monday insisted that for Ankara to approve Sweden’s accession, Brussels must open the door to Turkey joining the EU. Stoltenberg said that Sweden had agreed as part of the pact to help Turkey “reinvigorate” its negotiations to join the political and economic bloc.
“That is not an issue for Nato, it is an issue for the European Union,” the Nato secretary-general said when asked about any agreements made by the EU to encourage Erdoğan’s agreement. “What Sweden agreed today as an EU member was to support actively efforts to reinvigorate Turkey’s EU accession process.”
Securing Turkey’s support for Sweden becoming a Nato member removes a major irritation for the alliance as it seeks to project unity, and comes as the US and Germany are at odds with other Nato countries over speeding up Kyiv’s own bid for membership.
“I call out to those who have kept Turkey waiting at the EU door for more than 50 years, pave the way for Turkey and we will pave the way for Sweden,” Erdoğan had said earlier on Monday as he departed for the summit in Vilnius.
Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, had responded that the issues of Sweden’s Nato membership and Turkey’s EU hopes were “not related”, comments echoed by the European Commission.
Washington and European capitals had been pressing Ankara to approve Sweden’s Nato bid after the Nordic country broke with generations of neutrality following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year and sought membership.
Sweden has made several concessions in an attempt to woo Ankara, including the passage of a new anti-terrorism law.
But Erdoğan had previously insisted on further measures, including curbs on public demonstrations by supporters of the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), which is classified as a terrorist organisation by the EU, US and UK, as well as by Turkey itself.
As part of the agreement on Monday, Turkey and Sweden agreed a new bilateral security compact. Stockholm will “present a road map as the basis of its continued fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations” as part of the pact, according to a joint statement.
Nato also plans “significantly stepping up” its anti-terrorism campaign with the appointment of a special co-ordinator for counter-terrorism, the statement said.
US president Joe Biden late on Monday welcomed the deal and said he stood “ready to work with President Erdoğan and Turkey on enhancing defence and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area”.
Nato requires all existing members to ratify applicants joining the western alliance. The only other holdout on Sweden is Hungary, but analysts say Budapest is likely to follow Ankara’s lead.
Additional reporting by Funja Güler in Ankara
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