Why Turkey is blocking bids by Sweden and Finland to join NATO
Recep Tayyip Erdogan is using his veto—his reasons for doing so are varied
THE PHONES at the “Kulliye”, the vast 1,100-room Turkish presidential complex, have been ringing incessantly as Western leaders and officials call to find the answer to an urgent question: what is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s price for allowing Sweden and Finland to join NATO?
Most NATO leaders have welcomed the two applicants with open arms. In contrast with many recent members—the most recent being Montenegro and North Macedonia—the Nordic applicants would bring advanced military capabilities to the alliance and help to strengthen its northern flank. And by abandoning their tradition of non-alignment, their decision to join NATO is a stinging rebuke to Russia and its war of aggression against Ukraine.
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