Photo: AP/Hanna JohreAlthough Sweden has strong support from other NATO members, Turkey is holding back its process of joining the alliance. The question remains whether Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will relent at next month's NATO summit
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, referring to the themes of Turkish nationalism and the fight against terrorism, is the main obstacle to Sweden's entry into NATO, the New York Times writes.
These are the reasons why Sweden, although it applied for NATO membership in May last year, is still waiting for Turkey's approval.
But after the introduction of the Terrorism Act, Sweden has met all the conditions for joining the Alliance agreed in the trilateral plan of Finland, Sweden and Turkey, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Bilstrom said.
Representatives of the countries met several times. The last meeting was in Ankara in mid-June. At that meeting, Erdogan expressed doubt that he would approve Sweden's entry into NATO.
As NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, he spoke with Erdogan on Sunday and contacted the governments in Stockholm and Helsinki. They agreed to hold a high-level meeting in Brussels ahead of the July 11-12 NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
"That meeting will bring together foreign ministers, intelligence chiefs and national security advisers." The goal is to achieve progress towards Sweden's membership in NATO," said the Secretary General, Stoltenberg said at a press conference in Lithuania.
Window of opportunity
Western officials hope Erdogan will soften his stance after winning the presidential election last month.
According to analysts, Erdogan, as a mediator between his NATO allies and economic dependence on Russia, could now approve the admission of Sweden.
Analysts compare it to Sweden's actions last year when it respected all the terms of the agreement with Ankara on its stance against Kurdish opposition movements, such as the Kurdistan Workers' Party. This party was put on the "black list" by Ankara, considering it terrorist.
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