Turkey agreed to ratify the protocol on Swedenʼs accession to NATO

Turkey has agreed to ratify the protocol on Swedenʼs accession to NATO — and promises to do so as soon as possible.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced this on July 10.

Sweden, on the other hand, agreed to actively support Turkeyʼs efforts to join the EU, including the modernization of the EU-Turkey Customs Union and liberalization of the visa regime.

• In May 2022, Sweden and Finland renounced their traditional neutrality against the backdrop of Russiaʼs military invasion of Ukraine and applied for NATO membership. Finland joined the bloc in April 2023. Of the 30 NATO countries, Turkey and Hungary have not yet ratified Swedenʼs accession. Turkey is blocking entry, arguing that Stockholm has not fulfilled its obligations to extradite alleged Kurdish extremists.
• NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on June 4 that Sweden has fulfilled all Turkeyʼs requirements for joining the Alliance.
• Hungary has so far refrained from ratifying Swedenʼs application. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbánʼs government says Swedish politicians have told "outright lies" about the state of democracy in Hungary and says relations between Hungary and Sweden must improve. Sweden, for its part, criticizes the Hungarian policy of rapprochement with Russia.