President Erdogan approves forwarding of Sweden's NATO accession protocol to the Turkish parliament

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday welcomed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s agreement to forward the accession protocol for Sweden to the Turkish parliament.

Glad to announce that after the meeting I hosted with @RTErdogan & @SwedishPM, President Erdogan has agreed to forward #Sweden's accession protocol to the Grand National Assembly ASAP & ensure ratification. This is an historic step which makes all #NATO Allies stronger & safer. pic.twitter.com/D7OeR5Vgba

— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) July 10, 2023

The announcement came following a meeting between the Secretary General, President Erdogan, and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson during the NATO’s annual summit, which is held this year in Lithuania from July 11-12. 

"The memorandum concluded a year ago at the Madrid summit has delivered," said Stoltenberg, according to a press release of NATO. "It has delivered more in our fight against terrorism, more security for Türkiye, and a stronger NATO."

He noted that Sweden and Turkey have worked closely together since NATO’s 2022 Summit in Madrid to address "Türkiye’s legitimate security concerns."

Stoltenberg added that as part of that process, Sweden has amended its constitution, changed its laws, significantly expanded its counter-terrorism cooperation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and resumed arms exports to Turkey.

“Sweden’s cooperation with Türkiye in the fight against terrorism will continue beyond accession,” he said, welcoming that Sweden and Turkey agreed today to establish a new bilateral Security Compact.

Moreover, he announced that a post of Special Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism will be established for NATO.

Read More: U.S. Pushes for Sweden’s Admission to NATO, as Turkey Continues to Balk

Turkey previously upheld Swedish membership, complaining that Sweden is too tolerant of the PKK, which is outlawed in Turkey. This denial occurred despite US pressure to accept Sweden's NATO membership.

Foreign Policy wrote that Sweden's Kurdish residents have seemed to pay the highest price for Sweden's NATO bid. Moreover, Sweden has seemingly dropped its political support for Kurds in Syria.

Earlier this year, Turkey and Hungary withdrew its objections to Finland, Sweden's Nordic neighbor, joining NATO. Consequently, Helsinki successfully became a member of NATO in April.

If Turkey's parliament approves Sweden's membership, it is anticipated that Hungary would also withdraw its opposition.