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A Turkish parliamentary committee is poised to discuss and possibly approve Sweden’s bid for NATO membership on Thursday, in the latest step toward expanding the western bloc after an 18-month delay that has frustrated some allies and extracted some concessions for Ankara.
In May last year, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed objections to requests from Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance. The Scandinavian countries made the requests in the midst of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey ratified Finland’s bid in April but, along with NATO member Hungary, made Sweden wait. Ankara has asked Stockholm to take more steps to deal with “terrorists” (as Turkish authorities call them) under its jurisdiction.
Here’s what Stockholm, Helsinki, Washington and other NATO members have done to address Ankara’s concerns. Analysts say these are geopolitical victories for Erdogan, even as he has strained Turkey’s Western ties:
What concessions Sweden and Finland made
At a NATO meeting in Madrid last year, Turkey reached an agreement with Sweden and Finland in which they would lift the arms embargo and take measures against members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the so-called. Fethullah Gulen’s movement, which Ankara blames for the 2016 coup attempt.
Last year, Stockholm lifted a ban on military equipment exports to Turkey without disclosing details of companies or products. In June, she introduced a new counter-terrorism bill that would make membership of a terrorist organization illegal, saying she had kept her end of the bargain.
In recent months, a Swedish court has blocked the extradition of two Turks who Ankara says are Gulenists, while an appeals court upheld the conviction of a man for trying to finance the PKK, which is also considered a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States.
Separately, in response to criticism in Turkey and other Muslim-majority countries, Justice Minister Gunnar Strömer said Sweden was investigating whether it could change the law, to stop people from burning Qurans in publica.
Finland, for its part, agreed last year to consider granting permits for arms exports to Turkey on a case-by-case basis. After nearly a year of waiting, Ankara said Helsinki had won its blessing.
What did other NATO members do?
When Erdogan signaled at a NATO meeting in July that Sweden would eventually get the green light, NATO member Canada quietly agreed to resume talks with Turkey to lift export controls on drone parts, including optical equipment.
The Netherlands lifted restrictions on arms supplies to Turkey.
Also in July, after a meeting between Turkish and Swedish leaders, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that NATO would create a special counter-terrorism coordinator. In October, he appointed Assistant Secretary General Thomas Goffus to the post.
Agreement for Sweden against F-16?
Looming over the discussions is Washington’s approval of Ankara’s request to buy F-16 fighter jets and 79 upgrade kits worth $20 billion.
The day after Erdogan gave the green light for Sweden to join NATO in Julythe White House said it would proceed with the transfer of F-16s to Turkey after consulting with Congress.
In October, Erdogan sent Sweden’s NATO bid to the Turkish parliament for consideration. But he said Washington was tying congressional approval of the F-16 to Turkish lawmakers’ ratification of Sweden.
Erdogan signed the protocol for Sweden’s accession to NATO
Ankara has requested an F-16 purchase in 2021. But it has faced objections in the US Congress over Turkey’s delay in NATO expansion and its human rights record.
At what stage is Sweden’s request?
If the parliament’s foreign affairs committee backs Sweden’s membership bill, it will be voted on in plenary, possibly in days or weeks.
NATO foreign ministers will meet in Brussels on November 28-29. Hungary has also not yet ratified Sweden’s bid.
The speaker of the Turkish parliament (where Erdogan’s alliance has a strong majority) told his Swedish counterpart on Tuesday that they hoped to complete ratification “as soon as possible”.
Turkey has started a new détente with Greece as it hopes for F-16s
Since introducing the bill to parliament in October, Erdogan has said he would try to facilitate ratification, but added that Stockholm had not yet taken enough action against the Kurdish fighters.
Israel’s war against the Hamas militant group in Gaza could strain relations between the US and Turkey and complicate NATO expansion, analysts say.
After Erdogan said Hamas was not a terrorist organization but a liberation group fighting to defend Palestinian lands, 47 members of the US Congress called on the administration to hold Turkey accountable for its role in supporting Hamas.
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2023-11-16 09:59:11
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