2024-01-24 06:32:39
Abroad After a long blockade
Turkish parliament approves Sweden’s accession to NATO
As of: 07:32 a.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
Turkish parliament approves Sweden’s accession to NATO
The Turkish parliament has approved Sweden’s admission to NATO. A majority of MPs voted in favor of the country’s accession following a debate that lasted more than four hours. President Erdogan is expected to sign the accession agreement in the coming days.
After more than a year and a half, Turkey has ended its blockade of Sweden joining NATO – the parliament in Ankara approved Stockholm’s admission. However, that was still not the last hurdle: Hungary also still has to ratify the step.
The Turkish parliament has approved Sweden’s accession to NATO. On Tuesday, 287 MPs voted for the accession protocol, 55 were once morest it and four abstained. Ratification will enter into force as soon as it is published in the Official Journal.
After months of delays, the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee approved accession in December. This cleared the way for the parliamentary vote.
The Swedish government welcomed the decision. “Today we have come one step closer to full membership in NATO,” wrote Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on the online platform Defense alliance voted.
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Foreign Minister Tobias Billström also welcomed the news from Ankara. “It is of course good that the Turkish parliament has now voted for it,” he told the radio station SVT. Now we will wait for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to sign and forward the ratification instrument. This should happen as quickly as possible – there is no reason to wait once Parliament has done its part, said Billström.
The federal government also welcomed the move. “This is an important and right decision. The upcoming accession of Sweden, like the admission of Finland, will further strengthen the North Atlantic Alliance as a whole,” said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit. The accessions are a direct reaction to the Russian war of aggression once morest Ukraine. “The federal government assumes that the accession process can now be completed quickly.”
Stoltenberg calls on Hungary to follow suit
Hungary now remains the only NATO member whose approval is still pending.
The government in Budapest accuses Stockholm of a policy of “denigration” and demands more “respect” from Swedes. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on Hungary to follow suit following Turkey’s approval. “I welcome the vote of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to ratify Sweden’s membership in NATO,” said Stoltenberg. He is now also counting on Hungary to complete its national ratification as quickly as possible.
“All NATO allies worked in Vilnius to invite Sweden to join our alliance, and Sweden has fulfilled its obligations,” said Stoltenberg, referring to the NATO summit last summer. Sweden’s membership makes NATO stronger and all member states safer.
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Turkey justified its long hesitation, among other things, with the Swedish authorities’ alleged lax treatment of suspected members of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Sweden then promised, among other things, tougher action once morest the PKK.
In response to Russia’s war of aggression once morest Ukraine, traditionally non-aligned Sweden applied for NATO membership together with its neighboring country Finland in May last year. Finland was able to join the military alliance in April, while Sweden is still waiting.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan only agreed to give up his veto last July. However, he raised new demands and made the ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership dependent on the US approving the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. The US government is not opposed to a delivery, but Congress is currently blocking a sale.
Sweden’s foreign minister sees no reason to negotiate with Hungary
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban invited his Swedish colleague Kristersson to Budapest on Tuesday to talk to him regarding Sweden’s desire to join NATO.
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström then said there was no reason to negotiate with Hungary regarding Sweden’s accession to NATO. At the NATO summit in Madrid in the summer of 2022, Hungary officially extended an invitation to Sweden to join – for NATO membership without reservations, said Billström. “I therefore see no reason to negotiate today.”
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