(CN) — As the North Atlantic Treaty Organization kicked off a two-day summit on security and defense Tuesday in Lithuania’s capital of Vilnius — just 20 miles from the Russian border — it had already dealt a blow to Russian President Vladmir Putin, with Turkey lifting its objections to letting Sweden into NATO, according to the organization's leader.
Russia's aggression in Ukraine, and how NATO allies will continue to support the invaded country currently executing a counteroffensive to retake territory, is high on the agenda. So was Sweden's bid to join the alliance, until Turkish President Recep Erdoğan on Monday agreed to ratify alliance membership application in a quick turnaround opening a path for the Nordic country to become NATO’s 32nd member after months of limbo.
“This sends a strong and clear message demonstrating that President Putin’s war and aggression against Ukraine was a big strategic mistake. He totally underestimated the Ukrainians, he underestimated the unity of NATO allies but also underestimated the political consequences,” Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO told the press on Tuesday.
“He went to war because he wanted less NATO, now he is getting more NATO,” Stoltenberg said, labeling the Vilnius summit “historic” thanks to Sweden's impending new membership.
Each of NATO's existing 31 members must vouch for a new country to enter the alliance. Just over a week ago, President Erdoğan signaled that Turkey was not ready to welcome Sweden into NATO, AP reported. For months, since Sweden first handed in its application last year, Turkey delayed its final approval to the Nordic country.
Turkey accuses Sweden of being too lenient toward anti-Islamic demonstrations and of harboring groups and individuals that Ankara views as terrorists, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, labeled a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union.
Lately, Sweden has made efforts to meet Turkish demands. A constitutional amendment went to force in the country this year, introducing “limitations on freedom of association for groups engaged in terrorism.” Stoltenberg has since publicly stated that the Nordic country has done enough while maintaining that Turkish security concerns are justified.
Both countries agreed to cooperate on counterterrorism efforts in the long term, even beyond Sweden’s accession to NATO, and will "step up economic cooperation" and "maximize opportunities to increase bilateral trade and investments," according to a statement published by NATO on Monday.
It came as a surprise when, before leaving for the summit, Erdoğan said at an Istanbul press conference that opening a path for Turkey to join the EU would lead to Swedish ratification.
Turkey first applied to join the European Economic Community in 1987. It was considered a proper EU full membership candidate in 1999, but negotiations turned cold in 2018 as the Union viewed Turkey to have gone through democratic setbacks when implementations of domestic measures favored more power to Erdoğan after a coup attempt in 2016.
The new agreement states that Sweden will support efforts to reinvigorate Turkey’s EU accession process, including modernization of the EU-Turkey Customs Union and visa liberalization.
“We had good conversations with President Erdoğan and Secretary General Stoltenberg,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told the press at Tuesday’s NATO summit.
“I will want all NATO allies to know that we also provide common security and that we are here for the long term. We are decisive in fighting terrorism and organized crime,” he said. “I am happy with the result from yesterday and look forward to the ratifications.”
Now it is up to the Turkish parliament, which begins its summer break on July 27, to vote in favor of Swedish ratification into NATO. As the last hurdle stands, the Swedish prime minister will not celebrate yet.
“We grabbed a beer last night," Kristersson said Tuesday, "but we will wait with the champagne.”
Follow @LasseSrensen13
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