Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg gather prior to their meeting, on the eve of a NATO summit, in Vilnius, Lithuania July 10, 2023. Henrik Montgomery /TT News Agency/via REUTERS/File Photo
Turkey’s parliament is expected to give approval to Sweden’s NATO membership bid on Tuesday, marking a significant step toward expanding the Western military alliance after a delay of 20 months. The general assembly of Turkey, where President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling alliance holds a majority, is scheduled to vote on Sweden’s application, initially submitted in 2022 in the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Following parliamentary ratification, it is anticipated that Erdogan will promptly sign it into law. This leaves Hungary as the only NATO member state yet to approve Sweden’s accession, with the Hungarian parliament in recess until mid-February.
While Hungary had committed not to be the last ally to ratify, Prime Minister Viktor Orban invited his Swedish counterpart for discussions on his country’s joining of the bloc. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom, however, expressed reservations, stating that negotiations might not be necessary under the current circumstances, though a dialogue could continue.
Turkey and Hungary maintain more amicable relations with Russia compared to some other NATO members. Despite criticizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Turkey has voiced opposition to Western sanctions on Moscow. Russia has warned of potential responses if NATO strengthens military infrastructure in Nordic states, including Sweden.
Sweden’s bid for NATO membership signaled a historic shift in its security policy, aiming to enhance NATO defenses in the Baltic Sea region. Turkey’s delays in approving Sweden’s bid have caused frustration among some Western allies and allowed Ankara to extract certain concessions.
The delay in approving Sweden’s NATO membership arose when Turkey, along with Hungary, raised objections, citing concerns over the alleged protection of groups deemed as terrorists by Ankara. While Ankara endorsed Finland’s NATO membership in April last year, Sweden faced prolonged waiting. Turkey urged Sweden to take a firmer stance against local members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), designated as a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States.
In response, Sweden introduced a new anti-terrorism bill criminalizing membership in terrorist organizations. Additionally, Sweden, along with Finland, Canada, and the Netherlands, took steps to ease Turkey’s arms-export policies.
President Erdogan, in October, sent Sweden’s bid to parliament, linking its ratification to U.S. approval of F-16 fighter jet sales to Turkey. The White House supports the sale, but a timeframe for U.S. Congress approval remains unclear, with some opposition over concerns about delaying NATO enlargement and Turkey’s human rights record.
The Turkish general assembly convened at 1200 GMT to deliberate on several matters, with Sweden’s NATO membership bid among the topics under discussion. The parliamentary foreign affairs commission had approved the bid last month, receiving support from Erdogan’s ruling AK Party, nationalist allies MHP, and the main opposition CHP, while opposition nationalist and Islamist parties opposed it.
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