Turkey backs Sweden’s Nato membership.

Sweden has been seeking to join NATO since September 2022, when it applied along with Finland amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, its bid has faced opposition from Turkey, which has demanded that Sweden crack down on Kurdish groups that Ankara considers terrorists. Sweden has also been criticized by Hungary, another NATO member, for its stance on migration and human rights.

The US Senate ratified Sweden’s and Finland’s applications in November 2022 with a 95-1 vote, and Germany also approved their membership bid in the same month. However, all 30 NATO members need to approve their accession, a process that could take months. If completed, Sweden and Finland would gain Article Five protection and end their decades of neutrality. They are currently NATO partners and participate in military exercises with the alliance.

On the eve of a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, where the war in Ukraine will dominate the agenda, the Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, met with Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in a last-ditch attempt to bridge the diplomatic impasse. The US president, Joe Biden, also urged Erdoğan to support Sweden’s application when they met on the sidelines of the summit. According to NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, Turkey has agreed to back Sweden’s bid after more than a year of blocking it.

The possibility of Ukraine’s admittance to NATO is also expected to be high on the summit agenda, while Biden is also likely to face questions as to why he last week approved the provision of cluster munitions to Kyiv. The weapon has been banned by more than two-thirds of NATO members because of its record for causing indiscriminate civilian casualties.