Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a presidential decree on 25 January 2024 approving the ratification law passed by the Turkish Grand National Assembly to allow Sweden to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).1 This decree formally promulgated Turkiye’s ratification of Sweden’s NATO accession agreement that the Turkish Parliament adopted on 23 January 2024. Turkiye though extracted substantial concessions from Sweden and other nations in exchange for approving Sweden’s bid to join NATO. While Turkiye supports NATO expansion to counter Russian aggression, it leveraged its position as an existing member with veto power to negotiate benefits aligned with its national interests.
Turkiye initially opposed Sweden’s bid when Sweden formally decided to pursue NATO membership in May 2022 in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. To secure Ankara’s support, Sweden authorised military equipment deliveries to Turkiye in September 2022, reversing restrictions imposed in October 2019.2 These included electronic systems, software and technical assistance from Swedish defence companies. The licensing decision by Sweden was taken in consultations with the cross-party Export Control Council to ensure broad political support. This decision reflected the changed defence and security circumstances based on Sweden’s NATO membership bid and the importance of cooperation with NATO allies like Turkiye. Sweden assessed cooperation with Turkiye through NATO as essential for national and mutual security interests.
One specific condition Turkiye set for approving Sweden’s NATO membership bid was that Sweden stop providing support to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). As per Turkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, over its more than 35 years of insurgency against the Turkish State, PKK, designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkiye, the US, the UK and the European Union, has been responsible for over 40,000 fatalities through its violent tactics to advance the Kurdish nationalist cause.3 Turkiye had accused Sweden of harbouring PKK members and allowing PKK fundraising and recruiting on its soil. To address Turkiye’s concerns, Sweden amended its constitution, changed counter-terrorism laws, and expanded counter-terrorism cooperation against the PKK as per the 2022 Trilateral Memorandum between Sweden, Finland and Turkiye.4........