Turkey backs Sweden's NATO membership

Nepal Views

Kathmandu: Turkey has agreed to forward to parliament Sweden’s bid to join the NATO military alliance, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said on the eve of a NATO summit in Vilnius.

‘I’m glad to announce … that President Erdogan has agreed to forward the accession protocol for Sweden to the grand national assembly as soon as possible, and work closely with the assembly to ensure ratification,’ Stoltenberg told a news conference on Monday.

Stoltenberg declined to give a date for when Sweden’s accession would be ratified by the Turkish parliament, the grand national assembly, which would decide on the exact timing.

Meanwhile, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said, ‘I am very happy, it is a good day for Sweden.’

Turkey had previously spent months blocking Sweden’s application, accusing it of hosting Kurdish militants. As one of NATO 31 members, Turkey has a veto over any new country joining the group.

Reacting to the news, US President Joe Biden said he welcomed the commitment by President Erdogan to proceed with ‘swift ratification’.

‘I stand ready to work with President Erdogan and Turkey on enhancing defence and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area. I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd Nato ally,’ a White House statement said.

German Foreign Minister Annalen Baerbock tweeted, ‘At 32, we’re all safer together.” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Sweden joining would ‘make us all safer”.

Mr Stoltenberg announced the agreement late on Monday following talks between the Turkish and Swedish leaders in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

The Nato chief described it as a ‘historic step’, but stressed that a ‘clear date’ could not be given for when Sweden would join the military alliance – as this relied on the Turkish parliament.

Sweden and its eastern neighbour Finland – both nations with a long history of wartime neutrality – announced their intention to join NATO in May last year, several months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Finland formally joined the alliance in April.