On Monday, Sweden’s prime minister hailed a “great day” for his country and a “very big step” after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave Sweden the green light to join NATO, AFP reported.

“We are taking a big step towards the official ratification of Sweden’s accession to NATO. It’s a good day for Sweden,” Ulf Kristersson told a news conference in Vilnius, where the NATO summit is being held, saying he was “very happy” about the deal announced by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

What did Sweden promise Turkey?

According to the Conservative leader, Sweden has not committed to anything other than the bilateral agreement presented on Monday night.

The latter stipulates that Sweden will “actively” support the resumption of negotiations on Turkey’s accession to the EU, contribute to the modernization of the customs union agreement between the EU and Turkey, and the liberalization of the visa regime.

“President Erdoğan is determined to ratify Sweden’s accession to NATO as soon as possible,” Kristersson said.

The unblocking of the file is very good news for Stockholm, which decided to join with Finland after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Helsinki succeeded in becoming a member in early May, but a Turkish veto has blocked Sweden’s bid for now.