Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has submitted a bill to parliament for ratification, approving Sweden’s NATO membership bid. This move paves the way for Stockholm to join the Western defense alliance. Erdogan made this promise to his NATO allies during a summit in July, stating that the legislation would be sent to parliament when it reopened on October 1st. Previously, Erdogan had raised concerns about Sweden allegedly harboring terrorists.
However, since parliament reconvened, Turkish officials have insisted that Stockholm needs to take more concrete actions against the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militia before Ankara can ratify its membership bid. The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union, and the United States.
Finally, on Monday, the bill approving Sweden’s NATO membership moved forward. The presidency announced, “The Protocol on Sweden’s NATO Accession was signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on October 23, 2023, and referred to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.”
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has welcomed this development and expressed excitement about becoming a NATO member. He stated, “Now it remains for the parliament to deal with the question.”
However, there is no fixed timeline for ratification. The bill will be presented to parliament’s foreign affairs commission, which must approve it before it can be sent to the general assembly for ratification.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year. Finland’s membership was confirmed in April, marking a historic expansion of the alliance, but Sweden’s bid was delayed due to objections from Turkey and Hungary.
Turkey, with the second-largest army in NATO, has long been seeking U.S. congressional approval for a $20 billion sale of F-16 jets and modernization kits. Erdogan has previously linked Sweden’s NATO bid to U.S. support for Turkey’s request.
Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Huseyin Hayatsever in Ankara, Simon Johnson in Stockholm; Editing by Alex Richardson and Hugh Lawson
