On Tuesday, Turkish legislators approved Sweden’s membership in NATO, thereby eliminating a significant obstacle to the military alliance’s acceptance of the previously nonaligned nation.
The legislature of Sweden ratified the accession protocol by a vote of 287 to 55, with four abstentions. The ratification will become effective upon its anticipated prompt publication in the Official Gazette.
Hungary subsequently becomes the sole NATO ally that has not ratified Sweden’s accession.
The unanimous consent of all current members is required for NATO’s expansion. The only countries that have demonstrated resistance are Turkey and Hungary, which has impeded the progress of other NATO allies who had been advocating for the expeditious accession of Sweden and Finland.
For more than a year, Turkey, a NATO member, had been preventing Sweden from joining the organization due to its perceived leniency toward organizations that Ankara deemed to be security threats. A more stringent stance regarding Kurdish militants and individuals affiliated with a network that Ankara holds liable for the unsuccessful rebellion in 2016 has been among the demands it has made from Stockholm.
Turkey was further incensed by a series of demonstrations in Sweden that were organized by individuals who advocated for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which is prohibited. Additionally, Quran-burning protests that caused unrest in Muslim countries further incited Turkey’s anger.
Today, Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, declared on X, the platform that was previously known as Twitter, that “we are one step closer to complete membership in NATO.”
“We are pleased to announce that the Turkish parliament has approved Sweden’s application to join @NATO,” stated National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on social media. “This has been the President’s primary concern.” “The United States and the Alliance will both benefit from Sweden’s accession to NATO, as it is a competent and potent defense partner.”
The Turkish parliament’s decision was lauded by Jeff Flake, the United States ambassador to Turkey, who described it as a “terrific development” for Sweden, Turkey, and NATO.
As of late Tuesday, Secretary-General of Strategic Allies Jens Stoltenberg stated to Reuters, “I anticipate that Hungary will expedite the process of national ratification.”
In July 2023, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan eventually consented to Sweden’s NATO membership application. At the time, Stoltenberg tweeted that Erdogan and Kristersson had discussed Sweden’s membership and achieved an agreement, hours after Erdogan had stated that the European Union should prioritize his country’s accession.
While attending a NATO summit in Lithuania last year, President Biden expressed his eagerness to “convene with 32 members, with the addition of Sweden, very shortly.”
In July, Secretary of State Antony Blinken of “CBS Mornings” stated that the anticipated NATO membership of Sweden would send a “very forceful message” to Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding Ukraine’s aggression. This statement was made subsequent to ratification by Erdogan.
Blinken asserted that Putin “will not outlive Ukraine, and the sooner he concludes this aggressive conflict, the better.”
Blinken stated that the alliance’s strength and unity would be demonstrated by the inclusion of Sweden and Finland, which joined NATO in April. In 2022, Sweden and Finland submitted applications to become members of NATO.
Following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s submission of the accession protocol to legislators for approval, the foreign affairs committee of the Turkish parliament approved Sweden’s proposal in the initial phase of the legislative process last month.
Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akcapar, who advocated for Sweden’s membership last month, cited the measures that Sweden had taken to meet Turkish demands, including the removal of sales restrictions on the defense industry and the amendment of anti-terrorism legislation.
Sweden and Turkey have both committed to bolstering their counterterrorism initiatives and supporting Turkey in its efforts to reactivate its EU membership.
The principal opposition party in Turkey expressed its support for Sweden’s alliance membership; however, the pro-Kurdish party and a center-right party in the country have both declared their intention to oppose it.
“The extradition of sought criminals and the fight against terrorism have been inadequately addressed by Sweden,” stated Good Party lawmaker Musavat Dervisoglu in parliament.
Erdogan has established a correlation between the ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership and the approval of a Turkish request to the United States Congress to procure forty new F-16 fighter aircraft and modernization packages for its existing fleet. Furthermore, he has requested that Canada and other NATO allies eliminate arms embargoes against Turkey.
Koray Aydin, an additional Good Party lawmaker, has urged parliament to postpone the ratification of Sweden’s accession until the F-16 sales and modernization kits are authorized in Washington. He believes that Turkey would lose a substantial bargaining tool.
The transfer of F-16s was never formally associated with the ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership by Turkey by the Biden administration. Nevertheless, a significant number of influential members of Congress refused to support the transaction until Turkey granted its sanction for Sweden’s alliance membership.
The administration’s officials anticipate a relatively rapid response to the F-16 sale in the wake of Turkey’s ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership.
Sweden is “certainly poised to join NATO,” according to John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council in Washington.
He continued, “The time has come for Sweden to become an ally of NATO.” We are exceedingly comfortable with their sophisticated and contemporary military. Additionally, they will furnish the alliance with military capabilities that are genuinely substantial.
In February 2022, Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional positions of military nonalignment in order to seek protection under the security umbrella of NATO, a decision that was prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Moreover, Hungary has halted Sweden’s quest, alleging that Swedish legislators are disseminating “blatant lies” about the state of democracy in Hungary. The date on which the Hungarian parliament will conduct a vote remains unclear, despite Hungary’s declaration that it will not be the last to authorize accession.
On Tuesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that he had extended an invitation to his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, to visit Budapest in order to deliberate on Sweden’s membership in NATO.
