- Sweden has tried to convince Turkey to join NATO
- The country’s parliamentary committee on foreign affairs agreed to do so
- Sweden is now one step closer to becoming a full NATO member
Turkey’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday approved Sweden’s bid to join NATO, moving the previously non-aligned Scandinavian country closer to joining the Western military alliance.
Sweden’s accession protocol will now have to be approved by the General Assembly for the final stage of the legislative process in Turkey.
Although no date has been set yet, it is expected to be approved within weeks.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would then have to sign it into law, concluding a process that frustrated some of Ankara’s allies and tested Western ties.
Turkey, a NATO member, has delayed ratification of Sweden’s application for more than a year, accusing it of being too lenient on groups Ankara sees as a threat to its security, including Kurdish militants and members of a network that blames Ankara for a failed coup. in 2016.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, shakes hands with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, right, as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg looks on (File image)
Turkey’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday approved Sweden’s bid to join NATO
Several non-NATO countries have tried to join the bloc since Russia invaded Ukraine, including Finland, which joined in April with little pushback or resistance.
Turkish lawmakers said Stockholm should take further steps to tackle the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group that has been labeled a “terrorist organization” by Turkey, the EU and the US.
Some members fled Turkish persecution and subsequent crises in the Middle East in the late 1980s.
Sweden extradited a Kurdish refugee to Turkey in December, under pressure to meet demands in exchange for NATO membership.
Erdogan earlier this month linked the ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership to the US Congress’ approval of a Turkish request to purchase 40 new F-16 fighter jets and equipment to modernize Turkey’s existing fleet.
Although NATO member Hungary has also not ratified Sweden’s membership, Turkey is seen as the main roadblock to the Scandinavian country joining the military alliance and strengthening its defense line in the Baltic Sea region.
It comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began after the Eastern European country’s attempts to join NATO, reached its 22nd month in a row.
As Putin built up forces on his country’s border with Ukraine, he warned that any move that would put Ukraine in a more favorable position with NATO would be an escalation.
But NATO opposed the hostilities, with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg saying at the time: “Russia has no right to establish a sphere of influence to try to control its neighbors.”
Since then, several other non-NATO states have tried to join the bloc, including Finland, which joined in April with little pushback or resistance.
However, Sweden’s path to NATO was also opposed by Russia. The country’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in July it would protect its own “legitimate security interests” as world leaders met in Vilnius, Lithuania for the first day of a NATO summit.
The Kremlin said at the time that Sweden’s expected accession to NATO would have clear negative consequences for Russian security.
