Turkey approves Sweden's bid to join NATO after 20-month delay

In a big relief for Sweden, Turkey’s parliament Tuesday ratified the country’s NATO membership. This move has cleared the biggest remaining hurdle to expanding the Western military alliance after 20 months of delay. Lawmakers in Turkey’s general Assembly, where President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling alliance holds a majority, voted 287-55 to approve the Sweden’s bid to become the 32nd member of NATO alliance. The application to become a NATO member was first made by Sweden in 2022 to bolster its security response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. What’s next? Erdogan is expected to sign Sweden’s ratification document within days, leaving Hungary as the only member state not to have approved Sweden’s accession. For the unversed, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has friendly relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The country endorsed Finland’s membership in April last year but did not approve Sweden’s. On Tuesday, Orban said he had invited his Swedish counterpart to visit Budapest and negotiate his country joining the bloc. Hungary’s parliament is in recess until around mid-February. Turkey and Hungary maintain better relations with Russia than other members of the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). While opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Turkey has criticised Western sanctions on Moscow. For its part, Russia has cautioned that it would respond if NATO bolstered military infrastructure in the two Nordic states. Criteria to be a NATO member Countries seeking to join the alliance need to get their applications approved by all NATO members. Both Sweden and Finland asked to join NATO in 2022, but Turkey raised objections over what it said was the two countries’ protection of groups it deems terrorists. However, it endorsed Finland’s membership in April 2023, along with Hungary. ‘Count on Hungary’ NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the move by Turkey, and has urged Hungary to do the same. “I also count on Hungary to complete its national ratification as soon as possible,” Stoltenberg said, adding that “Sweden’s membership makes NATO stronger and all of us safer.” Why Turkey did not approve Sweden’s NATO membership application earlier? Erdogan’s objections to Sweden’s bid initially focused on Stockholm’s perceived acceptance of Kurdish groups that Ankara views as “terrorist”, which the European Union and United States also deem a terrorist group. In response, Stockholm introduced a new anti-terrorism bill that makes being a member of a terrorist organisation illegal, taking other security steps demanded by Erdogan. Sweden, Finland, Canada and the Netherlands also took steps to relax policies on arms exports to Turkey. In parliament, Oktay said Erdogan’s AK Party endorsed Sweden’s NATO bid after its positive steps fighting terrorism. The AKP’s nationalist allies MHP and the main opposition CHP also endorsed Sweden’s bid. Opposition nationalist, Islamist and leftist parties rejected it, while four MPs abstained. Erdogan, who had sent Sweden’s bid to parliament in October, linked the ratification to US approval of sales of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. The White House backs the sale and some analysts expect a deal to swiftly follow Turkey’s approval of Sweden’s bid. But there is no clear time frame for the US Congress to approve the deal. With inputs from agencies