Turkey agreed to stop blocking Sweden’s NATO bid and will work to ensure the Nordic country’s accession in the near future, bolstering the defense alliance’s effort to put forth a united front in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey will ask its parliament to advance Sweden’s membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization "as soon as possible,” alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg told reporters Monday following months of arduous negotiations over its demands.
The about-face comes at a crucial moment for NATO, which will hold a two-day summit starting Tuesday. The assembled leaders — including U.S. President Joe Biden, still the alliance’s most powerful figure — are eager to use this week’s meeting to signal that the conflict in Ukraine has only strengthened NATO.