A day after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan referred Sweden's NATO accession bid case to the Turkish parliament, the head of the military alliance said that the Nordic country could be admitted to the bloc in November.
In a letter to the current members of the defense alliance, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg named a meeting of foreign ministers on Nov.28 and 29 as the target date, several diplomats confirmed to dpa in Brussels on Tuesday.
Sweden originally hoped to join NATO as early as the summer of 2022. However, until the beginning of this week, the country's admission was blocked by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, over Sweden's tolerance of terrorist groups and desecration of the Quran. Erdoğan announced on Monday that he would allow the Turkish Parliament to ratify the so-called accession protocol.
It was initially unclear when the parliament would vote on the Swedish proposal because it has to be approved by the Commission for External Relations before the National Assembly can discuss it. In addition, Hungary must also formally agree to Sweden's accession. Sweden, together with Finland, decided to apply for NATO membership after a long period of military non-alignment in response to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Finland was admitted to NATO on April 4 this year as the alliance's 31st member.
At a press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Stockholm on Tuesday, Stoltenberg told reporters that he counted on "a speedy ratification" by the Turkish Parliament. He highlighted that Türkiye's decision was in line with the agreement reached NATO's Vilnius summit in July and stressed that Sweden fulfilled its commitments on the issue.
“Sweden has amended its constitution, changed its laws, expanded counter-terrorism cooperation, and resumed arms exports to Türkiye,” he said. The NATO chief noted NATO has recommitted to the fight against terrorism, including by updating its action plan and appointing an Assistant Secretary-General to serve as his Special Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism.
“I am glad we have been able to address Türkiye’s legitimate security concerns in a way that enables Sweden’s membership to move forward. I look forward to welcoming Sweden as a full NATO member in the very near future,” he said.
