Sweden and the U.S. Sign Defense Agreement; Strengthening Scandinavian Security

On the brink of joining NATO, Sweden has signed a defense cooperation agreement with the United States that allows the U.S. access to all military bases across this Scandinavian country; an agreement that Sweden claims will enhance regional security. According to the Associated Press, Sweden's Defense Minister, Paul Johnson, stated, "This agreement, signed on Tuesday in Washington, creates better conditions for Sweden to benefit from U.S. support in the event of war or crisis." The Swedish Defense Minister explained to Swedish Television (SVT) that this agreement does not mean that "all 17 bases will be utilized, but rather, for example, it is militarily important to have a place to store defensive equipment." The agreement was signed at the Pentagon by Paul Johnson and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. According to Lloyd Austin, this agreement "sends a clear message that we are together, committed to addressing security challenges." The U.S. signed a similar agreement with Norway, a NATO member and Sweden's western neighbor, in 2021 and is currently negotiating such agreements with Finland and Denmark, two other Scandinavian countries and NATO members. Following Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and its neighbor Finland decided to abandon their long-standing non-alignment policy and applied for NATO membership last year. Finland joined NATO in April this year. While new members must be approved by all current members of this Western defense pact, Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO countries that have not officially approved Sweden's membership request. Turkey has delayed approval for over a year, accusing Sweden of not taking Turkey's security concerns seriously, including the fight against Kurdish groups and other groups that Ankara considers "security threats." The U.S. Secretary of State previously expressed satisfaction on November 6 during a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, regarding Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's signing of the protocol for Sweden's NATO accession. Erdoğan, who had previously opposed Sweden's NATO membership, signed this protocol on November 1 and referred it to the Turkish parliament for approval. However, the Turkish parliament's foreign relations committee postponed the voting on Sweden's NATO membership on November 25. The Turkish parliament's voting on Sweden's NATO membership has been delayed. Erdoğan submitted the Sweden NATO membership bill to the Turkish parliament. Biden's European trip concludes; emphasizing "unwavering support for NATO" and strengthening transatlantic relations. The "non-extradition" ruling for opponents to Turkey poses a new obstacle for Sweden's NATO accession. The U.S. welcomes Turkey's agreement for Sweden to join NATO. Sweden is on the verge of joining NATO; NATO Secretary-General: Turkey has agreed to Sweden's accession.