US Urges Turkey to Approve Sweden’s NATO Membership

The United States has urged Turkey to approve Sweden’s NATO membership, with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken saying the “time has come” for the Nordic country to join the alliance.

Speaking alongside Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Christensen on Tuesday, May 30, the top U.S. diplomat said Sweden had been eligible for NATO “from day one” and had taken significant steps to address Turkey’s stance. “legitimate” security concerns.

“From an American perspective, now is the time to finalize Sweden’s entry,” Blinken told reporters in the northern Swedish city of Luleå.

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Sweden and neighboring Finland began seeking to join NATO. NATO, led by the United States, has a collective defense agreement whereby an attack on one member is considered an attack on all members.

All NATO members must agree to allow new countries to join the alliance. Finland formally joined NATO last month, but Sweden’s application is still pending.

Hungary and Turkey have yet to ratify Sweden’s accession, with Ankara seen as the main hurdle. Turkey has accused Sweden of providing safe haven to members of the PKK, which Turkey considers a “terrorist” group.

In June 2022, Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed a so-called trilateral memorandum to address Ankara’s grievances with banned armed groups.

However, Turkey said Sweden had not fulfilled all of its commitments in the agreement. Islamophobic Koran-burning protests in Stockholm in January, which the government condemned, have further fueled tensions between the two countries.

Blinken said on Tuesday, the 30th, “Turkey has raised important and legitimate concerns. Both Sweden and Finland have addressed them. So now is the time to move forward. We hope to see this happen before the Vilnius summit , referring to a NATO meeting in the Lithuanian capital in July.

Earlier this week, U.S. President Joe Biden said he had discussed Sweden’s NATO membership with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who won re-election on Sunday. They also addressed Turkey’s push to buy the American fighter F-16.

“I congratulate Erdogan. He still wants to do some cooperation on the F-16. I told him we have a deal with Sweden, so let’s get this done first,” Biden told reporters on Monday.

On Tuesday, Blinken said the Biden administration did not see a link between the $20 billion F-16 deal and Sweden’s NATO membership, but warned that some U.S. lawmakers did.

He said, “Some members of Congress, they are linking Sweden’s entry into NATO with the advancement of the F-16. Congress is a completely equal and independent branch of government. Of course, they have no say and votes in any such decisions. Crucial.”

Congress can veto government-approved arms deals, though it has never succeeded in blocking arms sales to foreign countries.

Blinken added on Tuesday that the United States would support Sweden’s security whether or not it joined NATO.

“We and our allies are committed and able to help Sweden address its security needs, whether it’s joining tomorrow, in two weeks’ time or in the weeks to come,” he said.

On the other hand, Swedish Prime Minister Christensson said his country was fulfilling its commitments to “Turkish friends” under the trilateral memorandum.

He pointed out, “We have always recognized that each NATO ally must make its own decisions, and only Turkey can make Turkey’s decisions, and we fully respect that.”