Sweden joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a long time coming, Heidi Hardt, associate professor of political science at the University of California, Irvine, tells CNA’s Asia First. Sweden and Turkey ironed out their differences in last-minute talks in Vilnius, Lithuania, where NATO on Tuesday kicked off its two-day summit focused on supporting Ukraine against Russia's invasion. “Sweden really has made steps forward in a direction that Turkey has been happy with. We have suddenly seen a surprise request for moving forward and renewing conversations about Turkey’s membership within the EU – those discussions have been frozen since 2005,” says Hardt.

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