The way has finally been cleared for Sweden to become the 32nd member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Turkey, a key member of the military alliance, briefly blocked Sweden from joining NATO. Peppermint sabotages development.
- On 10 July, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced that Sweden would join the alliance as its 32nd member. Finland had joined the military alliance only a few months earlier following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- While both countries have stayed away from NATO for decades, given their physical proximity to Russia, the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has overturned this decades-long strategic calculus.
- Both sides announced their intention to join the coalition. However, the induction of 30 existing members has to be approved. This proved troublesome for both countries, given that Turkey, a NATO member since the 1950s, seemed determined to seek concessions in return.
- While Turkey eventually allowed Finland to join NATO, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed that Sweden had not done enough to deal with the activities of Kurdish groups within its borders, which he accused of terrorist activities. Is.
- Sweden then amended its constitution and “significantly expanded its counter-terrorism cooperation” against the Kurdish militant organization PKK. It also agreed to resume arms exports to Turkey and to work closely with the Turkish government on security and counter-terrorism.
- For a time, it looked as though Erdogan was even determined to force the EU to resume talks on Turkey’s accession to the EU. However, European leaders quickly announced that the demand would not be considered because the EU bid had nothing to do with Sweden’s entry into NATO.
- After receiving these concessions, Erdogan announced that the case for Sweden’s accession would be put before his country’s national assembly for ratification. Hungary, another holdout country, has also indicated to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that it would confirm Sweden’s inclusion. However, no exact date has been set yet.
- Western leaders including US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed Sweden’s entry into NATO, which is expected to increase the alliance’s already substantial military firepower.