Turkey’s parliament has taken a significant step towards expanding the Western military alliance by ratifying Sweden’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership bid.
The vote, which was 287-55, marks the end of Sweden’s 20-month-long struggle to gain approval from all NATO members. The move is expected to strengthen Turkey’s security following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This is a significant victory for President Erdogan’s ruling alliance, and it paves the way for Sweden to join the alliance.
However, Turkey had previously objected to Sweden and Finland’s 2022 membership due to their protection of groups it deems terrorists. Later, Turkey endorsed Finland’s membership in April, but along with Hungary, kept Sweden waiting.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom also welcomed the Turkish parliament’s approval in a written statement: “We now look forward to President Erdogan signing the ratification document.”
Erdogan is expected to sign the legislation on Sweden’s accession in the next few days, leaving Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban has friendly relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as the only member state not to approve Sweden’s accession.
Orban invited Sweden’s counterpart to visit and negotiate the bloc’s membership. However, Hungary’s parliament is in recess until around mid-February.
