After a long period of stubbornness, the Turkish government under President Erdoğan has agreed to back Sweden’s NATO bid.
The development comes after the Turkish president said opponents in the European Union must clear the way for his country to join the 27-member state political and economic union.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced the decision from Vilnius, Lithuania, where NATO’s annual summit is scheduled to commence tomorrow.
The New York Times reports:
Mr. Stoltenberg said that Mr. Erdogan had lifted his objections to Sweden’s entry into the alliance and would take the country’s bid to his Parliament for ratification as soon as possible.
In return, Sweden and Turkey would continue to work bilaterally against terrorism, Sweden would help reinvigorate Turkey’s application to enter the European Union, and NATO would establish a new “special coordinator for counterterrorism,” he said.
The two countries agreed that “counterterrorism cooperation is a long-term effort, which will continue beyond Sweden’s accession to NATO,” a NATO statement said.
“This is good for all of us,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. “This is good for Sweden — Sweden will become a full member — and it’s good for Turkey because Turkey is a NATO ally that will benefit from a stronger NATO.”
Hungary was the only other NATO member to oppose Sweden’s bid to join the alliance. However, Hungarian officials have said they would not obstruct Sweden’s entrance if Turkey dropped its objections.
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