• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has unexpectedly introduced a hurdle to Joe Biden’s plan for Sweden’s accession to NATO.
• Erdogan announced that he wanted Turkiye‘s long-stalled application to join the European Union (EU) to be included in the package, potentially complicating diplomats’ efforts to lift the Turkish veto on Sweden’s NATO membership.
Speaking before departing for the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Erdogan stated, “First, let’s pave the way for Turkiye in the European Union, and then we will pave the way for Sweden just as we did for Finland.” This statement suggests that the negotiations to lift Turkiye’s veto on Sweden’s NATO membership will be more intricate than anticipated.
US President Biden had been working on a four-country deal, which involved Turkiyegranting Sweden entry into NATO in exchange for the sale of US F-16 jets to Ankara. Over the weekend, the connection between Sweden’s NATO membership and Turkiye’s demand for the US Congress to approve the sale of F-16 jets became more explicit, along with the conditions for the sale’s sanction. However, Erdogan’s remarks indicate that Turkiye’s aspirations for EU membership are now intricately linked to Sweden’s NATO application.
Initially, Turkiye’s support for Sweden’s NATO membership faced a hurdle due to a Quran-burning incident in Stockholm. However, a notable turn of events has occurred as President Erdogan introduces a fresh condition. Erdogan now asserts that Turkiye’s longstanding EU membership application must be approved before considering support for Sweden’s NATO accession. This unexpected demand adds a new layer of complexity to the already intricate negotiations surrounding Sweden’s alliance membership.
In a significant turn of events, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on July 10th that Turkiye has agreed to support Sweden’s bid for NATO membership. This decision follows Sweden’s commitment to ‘actively support’ Turkiye’s accession to the European Union (EU). Stoltenberg revealed that during discussions, Sweden, as an EU member, agreed to actively assist in revitalizing Turkiye’s EU accession process. Furthermore, Sweden pledged its support tomodernizing the EU-Turkiye customs unions and promoting visa liberalization.
The NATO chief emphasized the positive implications of this development for Sweden, Turkiye, NATO as a whole, and the Baltic region. Stoltenberg stated, “That’s good for Sweden, it’s good for Turkiye, and it’s good for the whole of NATO, and it’s also good for the Baltic region.”
This unexpected change of stance by President Erdogan regarding Sweden’s NATO membership came amid the ongoing demonstrations and boycotts against Sweden. People around the world, including Muslims, have expressed their discontent by boycotting Swedish companies like IKEA and Spotify. In a significant show of solidarity, players at an Iraqi League football match took a powerful stance by displaying copies of the Holy Quran as a protest against Sweden. This symbolic act aimed to highlight their opposition to the sacrilegious act committed in Sweden and draw attention to the deep-seated concerns and sentiments within the Muslim world.
But its dumb how Sweden allows burning of Torah and Bible as well now instead of just banning burning any religious book