After Erdogan’s successful elections, Turkey is reconsidering Sweden’s entrance into NATO. The matter will be discussed at the Vilnius summit.
Two months ago, Finland finally ended the bureaucratic process to enter NATO following Turkey and Hungary’s approval. Now, only one Scandinavian candidate remains to join the Atlantic Alliance: Sweden. According to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, the matter will likely be finalized at the next alliance meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania.
As for Finland, the only countries opposing Sweden’s NATO entry are Turkey and Hungary. The reason why Viktor Orban, President of Hungary, opposes Sweden’s bid is clear: he has always been a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, delaying every international effort against Russia.
As a member of the EU, Hungary has always hindered European sanctions against Moscow. Viktor Orban has publicly defended Russia’s actions many times, blaming the Ukraine war on NATO and the global West. Finally, as a bordering nation of Ukraine, Hungary has yet to allow Western military support to Kyiv.
NATO is significantly strengthened with the addition of Finland and Sweden. Finland alone adds 800 km to the NATO-Russia border, and the Finnish capital Helsinki is just short of 300 km from Saint Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city.
With Sweden, the Baltic Sea will become a full-NATO lake, preventing any hostile movement from the Russian fleet based in Saint Petersburg and Kaliningrad.
Why won’t Turkey let Sweden join
While Hungary’s reasons are straightforward, Turkey’s opposition is more complex and nuanced.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has several ideological clashes with Sweden. For example, Erdogan demands Swedish recognition of the PKK (Kurdish Workers Party) as a terrorist organization. Thousands of Kurds are internally displaced in Turkey and the PKK has fought a low-level war against the government to obtain autonomy for the Kurdish people.
Sweden supports the Kurdish effort, even hosting many PKK leaders in exile. Turkey, in exchange for NATO membership, demands Sweden extradite these leaders and includes the PKK on the terrorist organization list.
Anti-Turkish protests have erupted across Sweden in recent months. Last December, Swedish opposition leader Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Quran in Stockholm, resulting in Erdogan’s resolute refusal to accept Sweden into NATO.
But with Turkey’s recent elections, which granted Erdogan a five-year extension to his rule, the president is ready to change his mind. According to Stoltenberg, the issue will be addressed at the NATO summit in Vilnius next July.
"Sweden has taken significant concrete steps to meet Turkey’s concerns," said the Secretary-General referring to increased cooperation between Stockholm and Ankara.
Sweden’s entrance into NATO is only a matter of time, to Vladimir Putin’s detriment.
