Putin Ally Delivers Blow to Russia

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who in the past has touted his "special relationship" with Russian President Vladimir Putin, delivered a blow to Russian efforts to limit the scope of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Monday.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced Monday that Erdoğan agreed to send Sweden's NATO accession protocol to the Turkish parliament "as soon as possible," ending the months-long holdup of the Scandinavian country's efforts to join the military alliance. Turkey has opposed Sweden's membership over concerns about the government's efforts to combat Islamophobia as well as calls for Stockholm to crack down on Kurdish groups in their country.

"Completing Sweden's accession to NATO is a historic step that benefits the security of all NATO allies at this critical time. It makes us all stronger and safer," Stoltenberg said in a press conference Monday afternoon.

The move is a blow to Putin, who has opposed the growth of NATO. Putin has said the alliance's eastward expansion was a key reason why his country invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but the invasion prompted both Sweden and Finland, once NATO holdouts, to apply for membership.

Erdoğan sought to establish himself as a key mediator between Russia and the West as Putin finds himself increasingly ostracized from much of Europe amid the Russia-Ukraine war. The Turkish leader has walked a narrow line between opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine while maintaining close ties to Putin as he seeks to fill a more neutral role in the matter.

Mathieu Droin, a visiting fellow for the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program, told Newsweek in a phone interview Monday afternoon that Sweden's membership will be a "major strategic and political failure for Russia" and a result of "Russia's aggression against Ukraine."

"It's a severe setback for Vladimir Putin because, obviously, instead of dividing the alliance, he brought the alliance closer together."

He said that while not much about Sweden's relations with NATO countries will change, as it has long been the alliance's closest partner, its membership will mean the Baltic Sea "becomes almost a NATO lake," making it more difficult for Russia to maneuver in that region.

Turkey's shift in its position on Sweden's NATO membership may be a result of Erdoğan realizing there is "nothing more to extract" following concessions from Sweden, Droin said.

Moscow did not immediately respond to news of Sweden's NATO membership bid advancing. Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment via email.

However, Russia has previously spoken out against Sweden joining NATO. In May 2022, Russia's Foreign Ministry warned that the Kremlin would take "retaliatory steps, both of a military-technical and other nature" if Sweden and Finland were granted NATO membership. Finland became the alliance's 31st member in April.

United States President Joe Biden said he "welcomes" the advancement of Sweden's membership bid in a statement Monday afternoon.

"I stand ready to work with President Erdoğan and Türkiye on enhancing defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area. I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd NATO Ally," Biden said.

Former U.S. Admiral Ja described the additions of Finland and Sweden as "brilliant decisions" by NATO leadership.

"The distant boom you hear is Vladimir Putin's head exploding in frustration as his world continues to unravel. Adding Finland, and now Sweden, are a pair of brilliant decisions by the @NATO alliance," he tweeted.

Earlier in July amid speculation that Sweden's membership bid may advance ahead of a NATO summit set for this week, Russia announced through the Kremlin-friendly newspaper Izvestia a new joint-service force as part of its Northern Fleet to strengthen its presence in the Arctic.

Update 07/10/2023 5:50 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.