Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan submitted to parliament on Monday for ratification a bill approving Sweden’s NATO membership application.
Erdogan had previously raised objections over Sweden’s alleged harboring of individuals whom Türkiye claims are terrorists. At a NATO summit in July, Erdogan reassured his allies by saying he would introduce the bill to parliament as soon as it reconvened on October 1.
Before Ankara could ratify its membership bid, Turkish officials have repeatedly stated that Stockholm must take more concrete measures to crack down on members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Türkiye, the European Union, and the United States all consider the PKK a terrorist organization.
The Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, applauded the action.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that he was looking forward to a swift vote in the Turkish parliament and to quickly welcoming Sweden as a new ally.
Additionally, the Hungarian parliament must ratify Sweden’s NATO application.
“Now that the ratification process has started in Ankara, we assume that the same will happen soon in Budapest.” Tobias Billstrom, the Swedish foreign minister, told the Swedish news agency TT.
Türkiye, the second-largest military in NATO, has waited a long time for the United States Congress to approve the sale of F-16 jets and modernization kits worth $20 billion. Erdogan has established a causal relationship between American approval and Sweden’s NATO application.
Before the bill can be sent to the general assembly for ratification, it will be placed on the agenda of the foreign affairs commission of the Turkish parliament, which must approve it.
Once the bill is presented to the assembly, it will likely be passed, though it is unknown when Ankara will hold a vote.
