Turkey’s parliament’s foreign affairs committee approved Sweden’s request to join the alliance on Tuesday, and a full parliamentary vote is now expected before the president signs off on the decision.
Although President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling coalition can call an emergency session, it appears it will wait until January 15, when parliament returns from recess.
Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO countries that have not yet supported Sweden’s admission into the alliance.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg already expressed his satisfaction with the parliamentary committee’s vote on Tuesday. He also urged Turkey and Hungary to complete the ratification process as soon as possible.
Sweden applied to join the alliance together with Finland last year after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February. Finland became a member of the alliance in April.
Turkey delayed Sweden’s accession to NATO, accusing the country of being too tolerant of individuals and groups that Ankara considers to be threats to its security or accomplices in the 2016 coup attempt.
Turkey was also angered by demonstrations in Sweden by supporters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish separatist armed group, and Koran-burning protests.
2023-12-28 12:39:09
#Turkey #hurry #give #green #light #Swedens #NATO #membership #parliament #vote #weeks
