After a 22-month delay marked by repeated attempts by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to extort concessions from Sweden and the United States, the Turkish parliament approved Sweden’s NATO accession. The saga is not over — Erdogan still needs to sign the legislation — but it appears he believes he has maximized his profit, and there is no financial benefit to himself personally or Turkey of further delay.

From Sweden, Erdogan demanded it accept his classification that intellectual activity by Kurdish and Turkish dissidents equates to terrorism. In effect, he chilled free speech in a country that was once its bastion and signaled that the Swedish government sees its Kurdish minority as separate, unequal, and expendable. Swedish authorities may celebrate NATO accession should Hungary also lift its hold, but it will nevertheless mark a dark day for Swedish democracy.