Turkey will ratify "as soon as possible" the protocol for Sweden's entry into NATO, announced Monday its secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, after a round of dramatic negotiations with the leaders of both countries in Vilnius, a few hours before the start of a crucial summit for the future of the Atlantic Alliance.
Stoltenberg did not go so far as to venture when the long-awaited process will take place (Turkey is, together with Hungary, the only country that is yet to give the green light to NATO enlargement) but he brandished the agreement signed between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Swedish, Ulf Kristersson, as a guarantee that, this time, the obstacles to the entry of the Nordic country will be lifted shortly.
Since, a year ago, at the Madrid summit, the Alliance formally invited Sweden –and Finland, which already formalized its membership in April– to join the military organization, the Nordic country has reformed its Constitution and toughened its anti-terrorism legislation to strengthen its cooperation with Turkey, recalls the statement. This Monday, after Erdogan threatened to condition any advance on Sweden's path towards NATO to a boost to the negotiations for Turkey's entry into the European Union, the Turkish leader wrested new commitments from Stockholm such as the creation of a new mechanism bilateral anti-terrorist cooperation as well as the creation of a new economic and commercial council to promote bilateral exchanges, in addition to the commitment that there will be no restrictions "between allies" on the sale of military material.
"This is a historic day, we have a clear commitment from Turkey to send the ratification documents to the Grand National Assembly and to work closely with the assembly to guarantee ratification", celebrated the secretary general, thus dispelling the dire forecasts with which the NATO summit was beginning today in the Lithuanian capital. Ankara's sudden interest in reviving its EU membership negotiations is not part of the negotiations being held in the Alliance, Stoltenberg said.
Although everything indicated that it could be a maneuver by Erdogan to buy time and advance on other issues of national interest, the unexpected coup of trying to link both processes deeply irritated the allied leaders. “Türkiye has been waiting at the EU's doorstep for more than 50 years. Almost all NATO members are members of the EU. I appeal to all those countries that have left Turkey waiting at the door of the EU, come and open the way for Turkey's membership in the EU. When you open the way for Turkey, we will open the way for Sweden, as we did for Finland," Erdogan said before traveling to Vilnius.
“It is important that we stick together in the fight against terrorism”, as Turkey calls on Sweden, but “it is also important that we address the legitimate security concerns of all allies who want to see Sweden as a member of the Alliance as soon as possible" because the country "has complied" with its promise, replied Stoltenberg, after learning of the new Turkish demands, in a clear change of tone compared to his previous statements. Finland became the 31st partner of the Alliance this spring, thus gaining 1,300 kilometers of border with Russia. With Swedish accession, the entire Baltic Sea border would be Allied territory.
Sweden's NATO membership and Turkey's negotiations with the EU "are unrelated issues" and "I don't think they should be viewed that way," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said before traveling to Vilnius. Sweden "meets all the requirements" and Turkey's green light to enter should have occurred "preferably this Monday, not today." Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, host of the summit, called Erdogan to order. "It is important that the list of [Turkish] demands is finite and that once the requests have been fulfilled, there are no new ones."
The Turkish delegation to NATO did not issue any statement tonight about the meeting or about the president's plans. The delaying tactics used by Erdogan over the past year call for caution in calculating when he will take the step of proposing ratification of the Swedish accession protocol. Stoltenberg insisted that there is a "clear commitment" on the part of the Turkish president, who arrives in Vilnius with a broader agenda that includes negotiations with the US on the purchase of F16 fighter jets. It remains to be seen if, finally, this matter and the Swedish dossier are linked or not.
