Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan finally sends Sweden's NATO application to parliament for ratification after a months-long stalemate over the process.
In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, the presidency said that Erdogan signed the protocol on Sweden's NATO Accession on Oct. 23, 2023. It was then referred to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
Turkey Moves To Ratify Sweden's NATO Application
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerrson hailed Erdogan's move, adding that parliamentary procedures can now begin. He said that they are looking forward to becoming an official member of the global military alliance.
The latest development comes after Turkey has blocked Sweden's bid to join NATO since last year. Ankara criticized Stockholm for allegedly harboring Turkish opposition groups that Erdogan's government considers "terrorists."
In July, the Turkish president agreed to send Sweden's bid to the parliament following a deal that NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg brokered. However, according to Politico, Turkish parliamentarians have revived calls for "anti-terrorism" measures in Sweden in the last few weeks, which complicates the situation.
A Western diplomat said it remains unclear how long it would take for the Turkish lawmakers to ratify Sweden's NATO application. Stockholm submitted its application to join the global military alliance alongside Finland in May 2022. This broke a longstanding tradition of non-alignment following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
While Finland has since joined the alliance, Sweden's application has been held up by Ankara and Hungary. While the bill's passage should be a formality, Erdogan is known for holding out on Sweden's application to extract concessions from the United States. These include the sale of F-16s to Ankara, a deal held up in the US Senate.
Erdogan has also demanded that Sweden tighten up on the extradition of Kurdish asylum seekers who are living in the region. Turkish officials have insisted that the steps Stockholm had taken to clamp down on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party militia were insufficient.
The Hungarian leadership is closely aligned with Ankara and maintains a relationship with Msocow. According to The Guardian, it has sent mixed signals about why it has continued to hold up Sweden's application to join NATO.
Ending a Months-Long Stalemate
There were times when the Hungarian government argued that it was only a "technical" issue but at other times brought up complaints about Stockholm unfairly criticizing the state of Hungarian democracy.
Many observers of the developments assumed that Hungary was hiding behind Turkey and did not want itself to be exposed as the only NATO member that blocked Sweden's accession to the global military alliance.
In a statement, Stoltenberg said he was looking forward to a speedy vote to ratify Sweden's application to join NATO. He also revealed that when he talked with Erdogan over the weekend, he told the Turkish president that Stockholm becoming a member would only make the whole alliance even stronger and more secure.
Sweden has assured that it would help revive Turkey's quest to join the European Union. Under the deal, NATO agrees to address Ankara's concerns about terrorism. According to Yahoo News, Stoltenberg also noted that he had appointed an assistant secretary general to serve as his special coordinator for counter-terrorism.
