Turkey approved Sweden’s bid to join NATO after stonewalling the move for 20 months.
The move was approved by Turkey’s parliament, which voted 287-55 in favor of Sweden’s adoption into the alliance, after it had first put it forward following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Sweden’s entrance is still being blocked by Hungary, which remains steadfast in its opposition to accepting the Scandinavian nation. All NATO members must agree to accept a new member.
“We support NATO enlargement to improve the alliance’s deterrence efforts. … We hope Finland and Sweden’s attitude towards fighting terrorism sets an example for our other allies,” Fuat Oktay, head of Turkey’s parliament’s foreign affairs commission and a ruling AK Party member, said during the debate, Reuters reported.
The statement was a not-so-subtle swipe at Sweden, which Turkey has accused of aiding terrorists over the presence of a significant Kurdish diaspora. Turkey’s anger over Sweden’s hesitance to condemn the Kurdistan’s Worker’s Party, or PKK, recognized by the United States and European Union as a terrorist group, was the primary reason for its hesitance to accept it into NATO.
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Sweden celebrated the move.
“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,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a post on X.