Turkey’s parliament has decided to postpone a crucial vote on ratifying Sweden’s accession to NATO, introducing a fresh obstacle to the Nordic country’s aspirations to join the western military alliance.
The foreign affairs committee, responsible for the initial deliberations, engaged in debates on Thursday but refrained from voting, opting for further review. The committee’s approval is a prerequisite for the full parliamentary vote.
Although President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose coalition wields control in parliament, pledged in July at a NATO summit to support Sweden’s accession, the process has encountered persistent delays.
The inclusion of Sweden is of significant importance to many western capitals, particularly in the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.
Erdoğan has consistently emphasized that Stockholm needs to take more substantial actions against terrorism and Islamophobia before securing Ankara’s support.
The focus has particularly centered on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish militant group engaged in a protracted insurgency in Turkey. Ankara alleges that PKK members have been allowed to operate freely in Sweden.
In response to Turkish demands, Sweden enacted a new anti-terrorism law earlier this year. Additionally, in July, a Swedish court sentenced a Turkish man to jail for financing the PKK. Last month, a Swedish man was convicted on hate speech charges for burning a copy of the Koran.
The delays in Sweden’s NATO accession underscore the complexities and challenges surrounding the alignment of priorities between the two nations.
