Turkey gives Sweden’s NATO membership application approval

Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, extends an invitation to the Swedish counterpart to visit and discuss joining the union.

Sweden’s application to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was ratified by the Turkish parliament, marking a major advancement toward the Western military alliance’s expansion.

With a vote of 287 to 55, Sweden’s 20-month battle to win over every NATO member has come to a conclusion. Turkey’s security is anticipated to be strengthened by this action in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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The alliance led by President Erdogan has won a major battle, and this opens the door for Sweden to join.

But Turkey has already opposed Finland’s and Sweden’s admission in 2022 because those countries support organizations that it views as terrorist. Later, in April, Turkey approved Finland’s membership but delayed Sweden’s approval along with Hungary.

“In order to strengthen the alliance’s deterrence operations, we support NATO enlargement… “We hope that Finland and Sweden’s approach to combating terrorism sets an example for our other allies,” AK Party member Fuat Oktay, who is in charge of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee, stated during the discussion.

US Ambassador Jeff Flake expressed gratitude in a written statement on Tuesday for the Turkish Parliament’s decision to accept Sweden’s admission into NATO.

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He stated that Turkey’s “commitment to the NATO Alliance clearly demonstrates our enduring partnership.”

The acceptance of the Turkish parliament was also welcomed by Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom, who said in a written statement that “we now look forward to President Erdogan signing the ratification document.”

According to Reuters, Hungary, whose prime minister Viktor Orban maintains cordial ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, is the only member state that has not approved Sweden’s admission. Erdogan is anticipated to sign the legislation on Sweden’s accession in the coming days.

Orban extended an invitation to Sweden’s equivalent to come and discuss joining the group. But Hungary’s parliament doesn’t meet again until sometime in mid-February.

Hungary and Turkey have closer ties with Russia than do other NATO members. Nonetheless, Turkey denounced Western sanctions on Moscow and opposed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia issues a warning about possible retaliation for NATO’s bolstering of its military infrastructure in the Nordic nations.

By submitting a membership candidacy, Sweden signaled a historic departure from non-aligned security policy and strengthened NATO’s defenses against Russia in the Baltic Sea region.