The ratification by the Turkish parliament, which is still pending for Sweden to join NATO, has cleared another hurdle. The responsible parliamentary committee in Ankara sent the Swedish NATO accession protocol to the plenary session for a vote on Tuesday, the state news agency Anadolu reported. Sweden’s application to join the Western military alliance still has to be approved there. A time for the vote is not yet known.
In view of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022. Finland was welcomed into the alliance as the 31st member in early April. In order for Sweden to be accepted, it still needs approval from Turkey and Hungary. The two countries are the last two NATO members whose parliaments have not yet ratified the accession protocols for Sweden.
Turkey had delayed ratification for more than a year, accused Sweden of a lack of action against “terrorist organizations” such as the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) and refused to give its consent.
After concessions from Sweden, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced at the end of October that he would allow ratification by the Turkish parliament – but since then it has been stuck in the committee. Most recently, Erdoğan linked his approval to the USA having modern fighter jets of the type F-16 deliver to Turkey.