Sweden’s breakthrough in NATO: Erdogan vows to agree to his accession – Altengate

– This is a historic day. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday evening that we now have a clear commitment from the Turkish president that he will bring Sweden’s accession for approval to the Turkish parliament as soon as possible.

– He said that it is good for Sweden, good for Turkey and for the security of the entire alliance.

Thus, it seems that Sweden will be able to follow Finland into the defense alliance within a relatively short time and become the 32nd member country of NATO.

Erdogan receives promises from Sweden and NATO

Now it appears that the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is ready to lift the blockade against him. Thus, Hungary is expected to follow suit, Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday evening.

In exchange for his acceptance of Sweden’s accession, President Erdogan appears to have been promised special bilateral security cooperation with Sweden, as well as the appointment of a special coordinator for counterterrorism in NATO for the first time.

In a somewhat unique way, Erdogan has also managed to establish an indirect connection between NATO expansion and the attempt to revive stalled EU negotiations in Turkey.

This caused confusion. On Monday, just before leaving Turkey, President Erdogan delivered a speech on Turkish television in which he linked the issue of Sweden’s NATO membership to the frozen EU accession negotiations with Turkey.

– Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, according to Agence France-Presse, that the way must first be opened for Turkey’s membership in the European Union, and then we will open for Sweden as we did with Finland.

Türkiye’s stalled negotiations with the European Union

German Chancellor Olaf Schultz criticized the link earlier in the evening. He noted that the two processes have nothing to do with each other.

– That’s why I don’t think it should be understood as a coherent topic, Schulze said, according to Der Spiegel.

Turkey’s nearly 20-year EU accession negotiations have been deadlocked since 2018 because Erdogan’s regime does not meet EU demands for respect for basic democratic norms, freedom of expression, and judicial independence.

For several years, Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself has emerged as a leader who has deliberately distanced himself more and more from the European Union. Therefore, it came as a surprise that the Turkish leader suddenly wanted to talk about EU membership again. Naturally, this also confused the Swedish delegation, because it had nothing to do with Sweden’s accession to NATO.

The President of the Council met with the leaders of Türkiye

However, it has come to play a role. During the evening, a meeting was also held between Erdogan and European Council President Charles Michel, guest of the NATO summit.

Then it turned out that Michel had promised President Erdogan to “work for the revival” of the EU negotiation process on Turkey’s accession.

Jens Stoltenberg said Monday evening that the Swedish prime minister also promised to work to breathe new life into the EU’s negotiations with the Turks as part of the agreement.

– It’s not a NATO issue. But Sweden, as an EU country, has said it will actively support Turkey’s attempts to resume negotiations with the EU, Stoltenberg says.

– It has nothing to do with NATO, but I welcome it, he says.

(Ulf Kristersson, for his part, downplayed any Swedish EU promises somewhat in his press conference during the evening. reports He describes Sweden’s role in that process in terms that Sweden “continues to agree to closer cooperation between the Union and Turkey”).