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The last obstacle remains to be overcome – Hungary
After the ratification of Sweden’s admission protocol in parliament, it still needs to be signed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and published in the official gazette for the protocol to enter into force. The Turkish leader is expected to do so in the coming days.
About 20 months have passed since Sweden and Finland officially applied to join NATO. Now Sweden has to overcome the last obstacle – Hungary, which has caused quite a few problems for the European Union also in matters of aid to Ukraine.
The Turkish parliament supports Sweden’s membership in NATO
The Hungarian parliament is now in recess until around mid-February. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has invited Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson to Budapest to talk about Sweden’s accession to NATO. The Swedish Prime Minister has said that he sees no reason for such negotiations.
Latvian officials: Sweden’s participation strengthens the alliance and the Baltic region
The President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs emphasized on the “X” social network that the decision of the Turkish Parliament was long overdue. He stated that Sweden’s membership in NATO will strengthen the alliance and security in the region.
With the Turkish parliament ratifying Sweden’s accession to NATO, another step has been taken in strengthening the security of the Alliance and the region. I hope that Hungary will not delay the completion of the ratification procedure and soon NATO will have 32 members. The Baltic Sea must be a safe sea!
— Edgars Rinkevičs (@edgarsrinkevičs) January 23, 2024
Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (“New Unity”) also welcomed the decision of the Turkish Parliament. “Soon, NATO and the Baltic Sea region will become even more secure. I hope to welcome the Swedish Prime Minister at the NATO summit in Washington in July,” she said.
#Latvia sincerely welcomes the decision of Parliament of #Turkey 🇹🇷 to ratify the bid of our ally #Sweden 🇸🇪 to join #NATO. Soon NATO and the Baltic sea region would become even more secure. I look forward to greeting @SwedishPM at the NATO Summit in Washington DC in July.
— Evika Silina 🇱🇻🇺🇦 (@EvikaSilina) January 23, 2024
CONTEXT:
Finland and Sweden refrained from joining NATO for a long time. However, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine radically changed the security situation in Europe, and support for NATO membership among politicians and the public in both countries rapidly increased. On May 18, 2022, both Finland and Sweden submitted applications for NATO membership.
Finland officially became a member of NATO, but Sweden’s application had not yet been approved by Turkey and Hungary. Turkish President Erdogan previously blocked Sweden’s admission, accusing Stockholm of harboring what Ankara considers terrorists, particularly fighters from the Kurdish separatist armed group the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.
In the summer of 2023, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg announced that Erdogan had agreed to support Sweden’s application for NATO membership and send it to the Turkish parliament for ratification.
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2024-01-23 22:39:06
#Turkish #parliament #supports #Swedens #membership #NATO
