This week, the Turkish Parliament is set to vote on Sweden’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), according to Turkish media reports on Monday. A parliamentary source indicated that the vote might take place on Thursday, potentially ending a delay of over a year in ratifying Sweden’s membership in the Western military alliance.
While CNN Turk reported that the vote would occur on Tuesday, other local media sources, including the private channel NTV, suggested that the voting session would be held later this week.
A parliament employee, who requested anonymity, mentioned that the deputies could discuss and vote on the matter on Thursday.
Commenting on the upcoming voting session, Vedant Patel, deputy spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, expressed the United States’ readiness for Sweden’s formal inclusion in the alliance. He added, “We have long considered that Sweden has honored its commitment, and we look forward to moving forward with this process.”
If Turkey approves, Hungary remains the last hurdle in the accession process initiated by Sweden and its neighbor Finland in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.
The Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee approved Sweden’s accession at the end of December (December), pending a vote in the general session.
Both Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO at the same time, with the latter joining the alliance in April (April).
Since the beginning of the process, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed reservations, as Stockholm, in his view, harbors Kurdish groups considered ‘terrorist’ by Ankara.
In early December (December), Erdogan conditioned his approval for Sweden’s accession on the U.S. Congress authorizing the sale of F-16 fighters to Ankara, noting that Turkey urgently needs these jets to upgrade its aerial combat capabilities.
While the U.S. government does not object to selling these fighters, Congress has so far stalled the deal for political reasons, primarily due to tensions between Turkey and Greece, also a NATO member.
Last month, Erdogan held telephone talks with U.S. President Joe Biden, who informed him that Turkey could receive congressional approval if it ratified Sweden’s NATO membership.
