Sweden could be preparing to join NATO. Turkish President Erdogan stopped resistance against the Scandinavian country. NATO Chief Stoltenberg announced this at a press conference in Vilnius, where the NATO Summit begins tomorrow. “Everything went smoothly under pressure,” said Europe reporter Geert Jan Hahn.
Türkiye and Sweden agreed to a bilateral deal late Monday. ‘This is a historic step. Sweden’s accession makes us stronger and safer,” said Stoltenberg. “This is good for all of us, Turkey also benefits from this as a fellow member. Now we can move on, and this can be submitted to the Turkish parliament for ratification.”
‘Under pressure everything is fluid. The adage seems to apply here in Lithuania, where Turkish President Erdogan is increasing pressure on Sweden by linking Sweden’s membership in NATO with Turkey’s membership in the EU,” said Europe reporter Geert Jan Hahn. “Sweden should support Türkiye in this, Erdogan believes. And Turkey, of course, supported Sweden with its NATO accession. And yes, that’s what happened.’
‘Suddenly on Monday evening, Sweden appeared to be joining NATO’
According to European reporter Geert Jan Hahn, part of the deal is NATO’s greater focus on fighting terrorism, a sticking point for Erdogan in the fight against the Kurdish PKK. For the first time in its history, NATO will have a counterterrorism coordinator. Additionally, the organization acknowledged that it was taking more serious measures in fighting terrorism.
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EU membership
Previously, Türkiye appeared to continue to block Sweden’s possible accession. Erdogan indicated that he wanted EU membership in return for Sweden agreeing to become a member of NATO.
The latter also appears to be part of the deal. Sweden pledged to support Turkey’s EU accession process, including modernization of the EU-Turkey customs union and visa facilitation. This means Erdogan got what he wanted from Sweden.
Sweden
Swedish President Ulf Kristersson welcomed the agreement. “It’s a good day for Sweden, I’m very happy. “It was a long day on a long journey from Sweden to NATO,” he said at a press conference.
In fact, Sweden has fulfilled all of Turkey’s demands agreed in Madrid at the previous summit.
Hungary, which also opposes Sweden’s accession, will also ratify it, according to Stoltenberg. “Hungary has made it clear that they will not be the last country to ratify it,” said the NATO chief. “So I think that problem will be resolved.” “It is unknown when Hungary will ratify it,” Hahn said. The country said that if Turkey did the same, Budapest would do the same. Hahn also thinks that Joe Biden is happy, but it is not yet known whether Turkey will receive American warplanes as part of this deal.
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