Turkish Commission approves Sweden’s entry into NATO

The Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee on Tuesday approved Sweden’s proposal to join NATO, a key step towards expanding the Western military alliance, after 19 months of delays in which Ankara sought security concessions from Stockholm.

The commission, controlled by President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK party, voted in favor of the nomination – submitted by Sweden last year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – after about four hours of debate, including talks on other issues.

The next step is the vote in the General Assembly of Parliament, where Erdogan’s party also holds the majority. The Swedish request is also expected to be approved in a vote that could take place within a few weeks. Erdogan would then sign the law, concluding a process that has frustrated some of Ankara’s allies and tested its ties with the West.

Commission President Fuat Oktay downplayed expectations of a quick vote in the General Assembly, telling reporters in Parliament that the speaker of the House will decide the timing of the vote.

“The decision to submit it to the General Assembly has been made now, but this should not be interpreted as (a sign) that it will be approved by the General Assembly as quickly. There is no such thing,” Oktay said. Parliament will go into recess for two weeks at the beginning of January.

Erdogan’s AK party, its nationalist allies MHP and the main opposition party CHP voted in favor of ratification, while the small Islamist Felicity party and the right-wing nationalist Iyi party voted against.

In a statement following the commission’s approval, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said Sweden welcomed the initiative and looked forward to joining NATO.

Boris Ruge, NATO’s assistant secretary general for political and security affairs, said on the social network X that the Turkish commission’s approval of Sweden’s proposal “is very good news.”

Erdogan expressed objections in May last year to requests by Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance, saying both countries protect groups that Turkey considers terrorists and citing trade defense measures by both countries.

Turkey ratified Finland’s request in April, but made Sweden wait until the country took further steps to investigate local members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which also the European Union and the United States consider them a terrorist group.

((Translation Redação São Paulo, 55 11 56447753))

REUTERSAAJ

Source: Terra

Rose

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