Turkish President Recep Tayep Erdogan finally gave the green light on Monday to Sweden’s entry into NATO. The decision marks the end of a long soap opera for the Swedes.
Posted
Reading time : 1 min.
:quality(50)/2023/07/11/64ad6c5d090e4_efespthirteen673292.jpg)
After more than a year of diplomatic tensions between Ankara and Stockholm, Turkish President Recep Tayep Erdogan has pledged to have Sweden’s NATO membership ratified by the Turkish Parliament “as soon as possible”. The decision was welcomed by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and even marks a “historic dayfor NATO Secretary General Jen Stoltenberg.
>> NATO summit in Vilnius: follow the live
In Sweden, we are far from the popular jubilation, but some like Julia and her brother toast to the news in a bar in the south of Stockholm, their eyes riveted on their phones: “I think everyone in Sweden knew it was only a matter of time. And the time has come“Julia thinks to herself.”very happy, because Turkey has been blocking us for a long time. I feel relieved, because with everything that’s going on in Ukraine…“For His Brother,”together we are stronger. It’s true that it gives a feeling of security, but it also means more responsibility for Sweden in case something happens in Europe.“
“We will end up going to war”
A little further on, a group of young people find it difficult to mourn a foreign policy marked by 400 years of non-alignment: “It’s the return of the Cold War: we’re going to strengthen our army, it’s going to cost us a lot of money, and we’ll end up going to war in a panic.“
Nearby, Marritte, 72, has heard it all and sighs: “I prefer to be in NATO. We have no choice, Russia is too aggressive. Putin is a new Hitler“.
In exchange for his green light, Recep Tayip Erdogan demanded that Sweden actively support Turkey in its application to join the European Union.