ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee on Tuesday approved Sweden’s NATO accession bid, sending it to the lawmakers for ratification, reported state media.
Sweden and Finland last year reversed their decades-long tradition of military non-alignment and applied to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Helsinki’s bid was approved unanimously by the defence alliance’s members following months of delay due to Ankara’s concerns. However, Stockholm’s bid has remained up in the air due to opposition from Hungary and Turkey.
Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee in mid-November held its first meeting on Sweden’s bid to join NATO but failed to make any final decisions. After hours of a heated discussion on Tuesday, the committee approved the bid, reported state media.
The committee forwarded the bill to the legislature presidency to be voted on in the future.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s governing alliance has enough seats in the legislature to ratify the bill.
Erdogan expects US President Joe Biden to convince American lawmakers to approve the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey in return for Sweden's accession to NATO.
In October, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan submitted a bill to the Turkish parliament regarding Sweden’s application, roughly three months after he voiced approval for Stockholm’s bid to join the military alliance.
Unanimous approval by alliance members is required in order for new countries to join the organization and Turkey has used this as leverage to pressure Stockholm and Helsinki to take action against Kurdish groups it considers “terrorists” in exchange for Ankara’s “yes” on the accession.
Sweden and Finland last year reversed their decades-long tradition of military non-alignment and applied to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Helsinki’s bid was approved unanimously by the defence alliance’s members following months of delay due to Ankara’s concerns. However, Stockholm’s bid has remained up in the air due to opposition from Hungary and Turkey.
Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee in mid-November held its first meeting on Sweden’s bid to join NATO but failed to make any final decisions. After hours of a heated discussion on Tuesday, the committee approved the bid, reported state media.
The committee forwarded the bill to the legislature presidency to be voted on in the future.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s governing alliance has enough seats in the legislature to ratify the bill.
Erdogan expects US President Joe Biden to convince American lawmakers to approve the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey in return for Sweden's accession to NATO.
In October, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan submitted a bill to the Turkish parliament regarding Sweden’s application, roughly three months after he voiced approval for Stockholm’s bid to join the military alliance.
Unanimous approval by alliance members is required in order for new countries to join the organization and Turkey has used this as leverage to pressure Stockholm and Helsinki to take action against Kurdish groups it considers “terrorists” in exchange for Ankara’s “yes” on the accession.
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