Turkey’s government accuses Sweden of being too lenient toward groups that Ankara says pose a security threat, including militant Kurdish groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt.

A series of separate demonstrations in Stockholm, including a protest by an anti-Islam activist who burned the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy, also angered Turkish officials.

NATO requires the unanimous approval of all existing members to expand, and Turkey and Hungary are the only countries that have not yet ratified Sweden’s request to join.

  • True, Russia is currently the 2nd strongest army in Ukraine, if not the 2nd strongest army in Russia. They lack the manpower and resources to extend their aggression deeper into Eastern Europe, so I don’t think NATO will need to mobilize to prevent an incursion into a country like Estonia or Latvia. But in that unlikely scenario we’d have Sweden’s backing, NATO member or not.