Worthy Christian News > World News > Turkey Halts Opposition To Sweden’s NATO Entry

Turkey Halts Opposition To Sweden’s NATO Entry

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

VILBIUS/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – In a major turnaround, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed Monday to support Sweden’s entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization putting pressure on Hungary, the only other military alliance state not yet ratifying the Nordic nation’s membership.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters about the breakthrough after talks with Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson ahead of Tuesday’s NATO summit in Lithuania.

“I’m glad to announce … that President Erdogan has agreed to forward the accession protocol for Sweden to the grand national assembly as soon as possible, and work closely with the assembly to ensure ratification,” Stoltenberg told media in Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital.

Sweden’s NATO accession has been held up by objections from Turkey and Hungary, despite expressed Western concerns about the regional impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Stoltenberg declined to give a date for when Sweden’s accession would be ratified by the Turkish parliament, the grand national assembly.

Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year, casting aside policies of military non-alignment that lasted through the decades of the Cold War.

Both nations cited the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a key reason to become NATO members amid fears the war could spread to Russia’s Nordic neighbors.

NATO MEMBERS APPROVAL

Applications to the alliance must be approved by all NATO members. While Finland’s was given the go-ahead in April, Turkey and Hungary held off on clearing Sweden’s bid.

Turkey had expressed anger about Sweden hosting members of militants, mainly supporters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), who he accuses of organising demonstrations and financing terrorist groups.

Ankara was also furious about anti-Turkish protests in Stockholm, which included the burning of the Koran, deemed a holy book by Muslims.

Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wasn’t in a hurry to encourage Sweden’s NATO ratification either saying the country had humiliated Hungary by questioning its democratic credentials and rule of law situation.

The Swedish embassy in Budapest has also condemned a government backed black list of critical journalists including the names of a Worthy News reporter and seven other journalists.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s chief of staff said last week, however, that Budapest would not block Sweden’s NATO membership ratification. Yet Parliament, which is dominated by legislators of Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party, failed you ratify Sweden’s NATO membership before its summer break.

However with Turkey giving the green light, Hungary, which has close ties to Russia, was expected to ratify NATO expansion within the coming months.

PRESIDENT BIDEN REACTS

U.S. President Joe Biden, also in Vilnius for the summit, thanked Stoltenberg and said: “I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd NATO ally.”

The agreement came after Erdogan paused his talks with Stoltenberg and Kristersson for a side meeting with European Union chief Charles Michel, president of the EU’s European Council.

Michel spoke of a “good meeting”, and said they had “explored opportunities ahead to bring EU-Turkey cooperation back to the forefront and re-energise our relations”.

Turkey has been a formal candidate to join the European Union since 2005, and an aspirant since long before that. However talks have long been stalled, as Brussels expressed concern over Turkey’s record on human rights and other democratic values.

With Sweden’s entry into NATO virtually certain, the summit was also expected to discuss Ukraine’s eventual entry, despite opposition from Hungary. Budapest has condemned Kyiv’s perceived limiting of the rights of ethnic Hungarians and other minorities.

The Hungarian government is also angry that Ukraine placed Hungary’s largest bank OTP on a list of “international sponsors of war” due to its presence in Russia.

The summit was likely to see debate on plans by Washington to send cluster bombs to Kyiv, a move decried by several NATO member states fearing massive civilian causalities.