Turkey approved Sweden’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, paving the way for the alliance to complete a historic expansion launched in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The agreement was reached in the final hours before a NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on Tuesday, paving the way for NATO to expand across more than a thousand miles of territory straddling the Baltic Sea, shifting the balance of power in Northern Europe and creating a potential chokepoint for Russian warships and aircraft in the region. It allows NATO to enter its annual summit having ironed out major differences, projecting unity in the face of Russian aggression.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had agreed to forward Sweden’s accession to the Turkish parliament “as soon as possible.” Erdogan had blocked Sweden’s NATO bid for more than a year but told NATO officials he would drop his objections after hours of meetings ahead of the Vilnius summit.
NATO’s inclusion of Sweden, along with Finland’s accession earlier this year, adds significant military heft to the alliance, including hundreds of warplanes and tanks and tens of thousands of soldiers. Both Nordic nations have deep insight into Russian thinking, having spent decades balancing a tricky relationship with Moscow. Both countries have been ideologically aligned with the West, including through membership of the European Union, while seeking not to antagonize Russia.