Turkish Parliament Approves Sweden's NATO Membership Proposal After a Year-Long Struggle

Ankara - The Turkish parliament on Tuesday gave a long-awaited approval to Sweden to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), bringing the country one step closer to joining the military alliance after a year-long struggle. With 287 votes in favour of the motion, the Turkish parliament comprising 346 members voted in favour of Sweden's accession into the group. In the Tuesday voting session, only 55 Turkish lawmakers voted against the resolution, CNN reported. In the past, Turkey and Hungary caused a major hindrance in Sweden's road to join the group. The decision came three months after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, submitted a bill on approving membership to parliament.

Shortly after the decision was announced, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson lauded the move by the Turkish parliament. “Today we are one step closer to becoming a full member of NATO. Positive that the Grand General Assembly of Türkiye has voted in favour of Sweden’s NATO accession,” the Swedish premier wrote on X, formally known as Twitter. Meanwhile, the Swedish Foreign Minster Tobias Billström hailed the move but insisted that the Swedish government will now wait for the Turkish president to sign the ratification. “Of course, we are not finished with the process until it has happened, on the Turkish side,” Billström told Swedish broadcaster SVT.

Sweden waits for Hungary's nod

If Erdogan signs the bill, the approval will leave Hungary as the only country to still ratify the Swedish membership. Earlier this month, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, hinted at progress by inviting Kristersson to visit the country and sit down for negotiation, The Guardian reported.  “I believe that a more intensive dialogue could contribute to reinforcing trust between our countries and institutions thus allowing us to further strengthen our political and security arrangements," Orbán wrote in the letter.  The Nordic nation applied to join NATO in May 2022, the same time Finland applied for the accession. The two applications from the Scandinavian country marked a historic shift in their security policies which was prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. 

Meanwhile, Finland's outgoing president Sauli Niinistö took to X, to congratulate the Finnish government. “I am very glad of the Turkish parliament’s vote to ratify Sweden’s Nato membership. Sweden’s membership will improve security in the Baltic region and make the whole alliance stronger. When Sweden is a member, Finland’s membership will also be completed," Niinistö wrote on X. Finland joined the alliance in 2023, however,  Ankara urged Stockholm to “toughen” its stance on members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Sweden on the other hand has already signed a deal with the United States and agreed to give full access to 17 of its military bases