U.S Persuades Turkey to Back Sweden’s NATO Bid Amid Ongoing Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Despite Turkey objecting to Sweden’s bid to join NATO, the U.S remains hopeful that good sense will prevail. The U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Ankara to support Sweden’s membership. He said there was no reason to delay in strengthening the transatlantic alliance amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Blinken highlighted the strength of the Swedish armed forces and the country’s history of close partnership with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The push for Sweden as a member country comes after the alliance welcomed Finland, in April 2023, as its 31^st ally. Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership after Russia launched its special operations in Ukraine in February 2022. 

Finland joined successfully but Sweden was pushed back by Turkey and Hungary. Blinken urged both countries to ratify their accession as quickly as possible. He told reporters there is no reason for any further time, Sweden is ready. NATO officials were betting on Finland and Sweden’s membership to send a strong message to the Kremlin. But differences between alliance members has been challenging. NATO was hopeful the Turkish president would soften his stance after the re-election. 

Give and Take

But Recep Tayyip Erdogan remains steadfast. He said Sweden has expectations, but it doesn’t mean that Turkey will comply with them. Ankara has been irked by Sweden’s criticism of Turkey’s human rights and democratic standards. Turkey, in turn, says Stockholm harbors members of “terrorist groups”. 

Last week, Erdogan said there will be nothing from Ankara unless Sweden prevents anti-Turkey protests in Stockholm. He defended his stance saying Sweden must first take a clearer position against Kurdish militants and a group behind the attempted coup in 2016.

Moreover, Turkey holds the Swedish government complicit in the burning of the Quran in January 2023. This incident saw tensions peak between the two countries. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused the Swedish government for giving green light to the police in Stockholm to authorize this anti-Islamic demonstration, which he described as a racist attack. Protestors in Turkey took to the streets of Ankara and burned Swedish flag.

Not ready to back off, on Wednesday Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said Turkey should ratify its position and support Sweden’s bid as Stockholm has met its obligations under a deal with Ankara. NATO also sent a delegation to Turkey to persuade the leadership to support Sweden. 

Focus on NATO

U.S Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin, at a press conference on June 16, said he seizes every opportunity to encourage Turkey’s defense minister Yasar Guler to move forward and approve the accession of Sweden. He highlighted that the European country has worked closely with the United States and other Western militaries. Austin said they have trained with Swedish forces in a number of cases.  He believes Sweden joining the alliance will enhance NATO’s ability in the maritime and aerial domains. 

Sweden recently joined NATO in a two-week air exercise called the “Arctic Challenge Exercise”. The U.S Defense Secretary described Sweden as a strong democracy and a country with substantial military capability. Furthermore, Sweden says NATO can base forces and equipment on its territory, irrespective of whether it’s a member of the alliance or not, to send a clear message to Russia. 

However, Turkey’s regional ambitions and complex internal politics complicates Sweden’s NATO membership.