The Turkish parliament is expected to vote later this week on Sweden’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It was initially reported that the vote would take place on Tuesday (23), but a parliamentary official on condition of anonymity told AFP on Monday (22) that lawmakers could only discuss the issue on Thursday (25). This is a ratification that Ankara’s Western allies have been waiting for for more than a year, amid several deadlocks.
(RFI) Other local media, such as the private NTV channel, reported that the vote would take place this week at the latest, without confirming the precise date. After Turkey’s ratification, Hungary would be the only remaining obstacle to the Swedish accession process.
Finland and Sweden applied to join the group in May 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, Finland was admitted in April 2023. Sweden’s request was approved by the Turkish parliament’s foreign relations committee at the end of December, but the plenary vote was suspended.
Turkey is the latest member of the Atlantic Alliance, along with Hungary, to block Sweden’s path, multiplying demands and pretexts to justify its reticence.
Since the beginning of the process, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has opposed Stockholm’s alleged condescension towards certain Kurdish groups, which he considers terrorists.
Erdogan’s conditions
At the beginning of December, Erdogan added a “simultaneous” condition to Ankara’s ratification by the US Congress of the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, which needs to modernize its Air Force.
The US government is not hostile to this sale, but Congress has so far blocked it for political reasons, mainly tensions with Greece – also a NATO member – which Ankara has recently moved closer to.
Last month, Erdogan spoke by phone with US President Joe Biden, who argued that Turkey could get the necessary congressional approval if Sweden ratified NATO membership.