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Turkish President Recept Tayyip Erdogan submitted the formal protocol Monday to admit Sweden into NATO to his country’s parliament, ending several months of delay over accusations from Ankara that Stockholm was not doing enough to crack down on anti-Turkey Kurdish militant groups.
Parliamentary approval is the final step in the process. A brief statement from Mr. Erdogan’s office did not say what led him to suddenly decide to reverse course and back Sweden’s membership application.
Sweden and Finland announced plans last year to join the Western military alliance after decades of official neutrality. Popular opinion in both countries swung sharply in favor of joining in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Finland’s application went through relatively quickly this spring, but Stockholm has been on the outside looking in as it tries to convince Mr. Erdogan to drop Turkey’s objections.
The Biden administration, which has strongly backed the applications of both Scandinavian countries, said in July it was going to move forward with a plan to sell Turkey 40 F-16 jet fighters. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, New Jersey Democrat, opposed the deal but his decision to step down as chairman following a federal indictment on corruption charges has made the sale more likely.
Although no date was announced for Turkish lawmakers to take up the matter, Swedish officials hailed Monday’s developments.
“Glad to hear that Turkish President Erdogan has now handed over the ratification documents to the Turkish Parliament,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote on social media. “Now it remains for Parliament to deal with the issue. We look forward to becoming a member of NATO.”
Sweden and neighboring Finland both applied for NATO membership in May 2022. Finland, which has an 830-mile border with Russia, became a full member in April 2023.
An application for NATO membership must be approved by all 31 member states. The statement from Mr. Erdogan’s office didn’t say when the application will be voted on by Turkey’s parliament.
Turkish lawmakers this spring approved Finland’s bid less than two weeks after receiving the signed protocol from Mr. Erdogan, whose party dominates the legislature.
Turkey and Hungary are the last two NATO allies who have not ratified Sweden’s bid to join the alliance. The government of Hungarian President Viktor Orban has not spelled out its specific objections, but Mr. Orban has unusually close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin among NATO leaders.
Budapest has said in the past it was not ready to sign off on Sweden’s bid but that it would not be the sole country holding out against membership.
U.S. officials say both Finland and Sweden have much to add to the transatlantic alliance, bolstering its reach and strategic depth along the northern borders with Russia.
The expansion marks another geopolitical setback for Mr. Putin, who justified his invasion of Ukraine in 2022 in part as a protest against NATO’s expansion to his country’s borders after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fears that Ukraine and other powers would seek to join the Western alliance against Russia.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also praised Mr. Erdogan’s move.
“I look forward to a speedy vote to ratify, and to welcoming Sweden as a full NATO ally very soon,” Mr. Stoltenberg said in a statement. “As I told President Erdogan when we spoke on the weekend, this will make the whole alliance stronger and more secure.”
To assuage Turkish complaints about Kurdish militants and terror attacks, Mr. Stoltenberg has created a new NATO assistant secretary general to be the special coordinator for counter-terrorism.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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