Published: Jul 14, 2023, 03:50 IST | Updated: Jul 14, 2023, 03:50 IST
Hope for Sweden’s imminent entry into the NATO security alliance began to fade on Monday when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan introduced a last-minute hurdle by linking his approval of the Nordic country’s bid to Turkey’s long-sought accession to the European Union. But just hours later, he made a surprise U-turn by dropping his opposition, paving the way for NATO to expand its fortification against a belligerent Russia as Moscow fights a war in Ukraine. But what caused this sudden change of heart in Turkiye?