In a statement on Monday afternoon, July 10, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “has agreed to forward Sweden’s accession protocol to the Grand National Assembly ASAP and ensure ratification. This is an historic step which makes all NATO Allies stronger & safer.” Stoltenberg claimed that the decision by Erdogan was prompted by a meeting set up by the NATO Secretary-General between Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
Erdogan has claimed that his opposition to NATO membership for Sweden for the past year was rooted in his concern that Sweden hadn’t done enough to help crack down on pro-Kurdish “terrorist organizations.” Analysts have suggested that the Kurdish issue was essential for scoring domestic political points for the recently concluded presidential election in Türkiye, but also gave Erdogan leverage in negotiations with NATO nations on matters such as advanced fighter jets from the United States, or possible EU membership. In fact, earlier on Monday as he was leaving for Vilnius, Erdogan told reporters: “Türkiye has been waiting at the door of the European Union for over 50 years now, and almost all of the NATO member countries are now members of the European Union.… Come and open the way for Türkiye’s membership in the European Union. When you pave the way for Türkiye, we’ll pave the way for Sweden as we did for Finland.”
Stoltenberg has since denied that Erdogan’s agreement for Swedish acceptance to NATO was tied to any quid pro quo on EU membership for Türkiye.
Sputnik International reported that a source told the news agency that there were “no specific deadlines” on the Turkish parliament’s approval of Sweden’s membership application: “The process will take some time, first there will be discussions in the commission, then it will be presented to the General Assembly. I can’t give you specific dates right now.”
