During the first day of the NATO summit in Vilnius, the most important matter was solved already: Sweden will become a new member.
After one year of grueling negotiations, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan finally approved Sweden’s entrance into NATO. The announcement follows just four months after Finland was also let into the Atlantic Alliance.
The decision came on the first day of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Sweden and Finland applied to join the alliance immediately after Russia illegally invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
But Turkey (and Hungary) strongly opposed the two Scandinavian countries’ accession to NATO, formally because of issues with Turkish "terrorists" who found asylum in Sweden and Finland.
The "terrorists" are members of the Kurdish Workers Party, which has demanded greater autonomy for their region for decades. The Kurdish people are the largest displaced ethnic group in the world.
Yesterday, however, Erdogan surprisingly opened the possibility of Swedish ascension to NATO membership. He, however, linked it to Turkey’s entrance into the European Union.
Though vehemently opposed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Erdogan obtained Swedish support for resuming EU membership negotiations for his country.
Turkey became an official EU candidate in 2005, but negotiations stalled and eventually stopped in 2019 as Erdogan’s government became increasingly authoritarian and repressive. Tensions with Greece and the "weaponization" of Syrian refugees also increased Brussels’ distrust of Ankara.
It is unclear whether negotiations for Turkish entry into the EU will actually resume.
American interference
The main reason why Turkey conceded so quickly was the interference of the United States, the Washington Post says.
The American Congress has been divided for years over Turkey’s relationships. On the one hand, Turkey is NATO’s second-largest army and the main American ally in the Middle East after Israel. On the other, Turkey often supported Russia in many international dossiers.
Erdogan’s anti-democratic attitude and Turkey’s increasingly long human rights violations record have worsened the situation.
However, Erdogan knows his success is largely bound to his American ally. Washington has been selling modern weapons and ammunition to Turkey for decades, which have then been used on the ground in Libya and Syria.
President Biden’s "persuasive technique" was simply linking Sweden’s entrance into NATO with the latest sale of F-16 jets to Turkey. When fighter jets suddenly appeared on the table, Erdogan nodded.
"I stand ready to work with President Erdogan and [Turkey] on enhancing defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area," Biden said as soon as the deal was ratified.
By doing this, Ankara is reminded of who is making the real decisions in the alliance. A necessary reminder, perhaps, in a world torn by war.
