NATO Agrees to Proceed with Turkey and Sweden Membership Process

On the 10th (local time), Turkey agreed to proceed with Sweden's North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership process, which it had opposed until now, as quickly as possible.

According to Bloomberg and other sources, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, announced this at a press conference after the Turkey-Sweden summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on the afternoon of the same day.

Secretary General Stoltenberg said, "I am pleased to announce that we have agreed to proceed with the ratification of Sweden's membership in the (Turkish) parliament as soon as possible," adding, "The completion of Sweden's NATO membership is a historic step that will enhance the security of all NATO allies at this critical time."

Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, President of Turkey, is expected to request the parliament to ratify Sweden's NATO membership soon. However, no specific schedule was presented. Bloomberg reported, citing Turkish officials, that the ratification agreement was reached after securing commitments on key demands, including Sweden's response to the Kurdistan Workers' Party.

This agreement was reached just hours before the NATO summit scheduled for the 11th and 12th in Vilnius. Unanimous approval from all member countries is required for NATO membership.

Sweden, which has long maintained a stance of military neutrality, had cooperated only through a "Partnership for Peace" without joining NATO. However, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year, Sweden abandoned its neutral stance and applied for NATO membership alongside Finland. Finland became the 31st member country in April after obtaining unanimous approval from the existing 30 members, but Sweden had been unable to join due to opposition from Turkey and Hungary.