Turkey’s parliament has voted in favour of Sweden’s accession to NATO, marking a significant step forward in the Nordic country’s long journey to join the Western military alliance. The decision comes after months of delays and diplomatic tensions that raised concerns among Sweden’s allies.
The Turkish parliament held a debate during a general assembly session on Tuesday, culminating in a vote that secured approval for Sweden’s NATO membership. The process had been marred by delays, straining relations between Ankara and its Western allies. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had originally pledged to support Sweden joining NATO in July, but complications arose and the process dragged on.
Among NATO members, only Turkey and Hungary had initially withheld support for Sweden’s bid to join the alliance in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, Turkey’s official approval now paves the way for Sweden to join, as Hungary is expected to follow suit. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced his intention to invite his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, to discuss Sweden’s NATO accession.
President Erdoğan still has to sign the ratification protocol after parliamentary approval. Delays in the process have been attributed to Erdoğan’s concerns about Sweden’s alleged friendliness towards Kurdish activists, whom Ankara considers terrorists.
Further complicating matters, Erdoğan linked approving Sweden to join NATO to the pending sale of F-16s from the United States to Turkey. The Turkish president has indicated that he expects the US to agree to Turkey’s request for the multi-billion dollar arms deal, emphasising a quid pro quo approach. The Biden administration has expressed support for the sale, but some members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee have expressed reservations.
For any new country to join the military alliance, the unanimous approval of all current NATO members is required.