Türkiye has agreed to support Sweden’s NATO membership, clearing the way for the Nordic country to join the alliance. The announcement was made by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Vilnius, where the NATO summit is taking place, Turanews.kz reports.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had previously blocked Sweden’s accession to NATO, demanding that Sweden and Finland take steps to address Türkiye’s concerns about terrorism. However, after a meeting with Swedish and Finnish leaders on Tuesday, Erdogan said that he had agreed to lift his veto.
“We have agreed to support the membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO,” Erdogan said. “We have received written guarantees from both countries that they will meet our expectations.”
The Swedish and Finnish governments have said that they are committed to addressing Türkiye’s concerns. Sweden has pledged to lift its arms embargo on Türkiye and to crack down on PKK activities in the country. Finland has also said that it is willing to work with Türkiye to address terrorism.
The decision by Türkiye to lift its veto is a major breakthrough in Sweden’s and Finland’s efforts to join NATO. The two countries applied for membership in May, but their bids were held up by Türkiye’s objections.
With Türkiye’s support, Sweden and Finland are now expected to be able to join NATO quickly. The alliance’s 30 members must unanimously approve new members, and the accession process typically takes around a year.
