Sweden's accession to NATO is approaching

2023-12-28 08:29:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Sweden's accession to NATO is approaching

Photo: Henrik Montgomery/ASSOCIATED PRESS

After months of delay, the Turkish parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee has voted in favor of ratifying Sweden's NATO membership, thus removing a major obstacle to expanding the defense alliance.

After the vote, the entire parliament must decide on acceptance. The date of the vote is not yet known.

In the face of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, Sweden applied for NATO membership together with Finland in May 2022. Finland became the alliance's 31st member in early April. To enter, Sweden still needs approval from Turkey and Hungary.

Both countries are the last two NATO members whose parliaments have not yet ratified Sweden's accession protocols. Turkey has delayed ratification and accused Sweden of a lack of action against "terrorist organizations" such as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and has refused to give consent for that reason.

Swedish submarine HMS Gotland in Karlskrona harbour

Ankara had recently submitted a list of 130 names to Finland and Sweden. According to Turkish media, these are mostly suspected terrorists who should be extradited.

How did the blockade begin?

At the end of January 2023, Turkish President Erdogan suddenly declared that Sweden cannot count on Turkey's support to join NATO. "If they do not show respect for the Turkish Republic or for the religious beliefs of Muslims, then they will not be able to count on our support when it comes to NATO," Erdogan said then. With this he reacted to a demonstration by the extremists of right a few days ago in Sweden, where a Koran was burned in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.

The demonstration was held under heavy police protection and behind metal barriers. Danish-Swedish right-wing extremist Rasmus Paludan went on a tirade against Islam and immigrants and then set fire to a copy of the Koran.

Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg

After Sweden's concessions, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced in late October that he would allow ratification by the Turkish Parliament, but it has since been blocked in committee. Most recently, Erdogan had made approval conditional on the United States sending modern F-16 jets to Turkey.

When US President Joe Biden congratulated Erdogan on his election victory, he apparently linked Sweden's accession to NATO with the F16s, contrary to what is officially said. But the US Congress does not want to hand over the fighter jets because Turkey had bought a Russian missile defense system.

Stoltenberg welcomes the decision

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the decision of the Turkish parliamentary committee. "I count on Turkey and Hungary to complete the ratification process as soon as possible. Sweden's acceptance will make NATO stronger," explained Stoltenberg./ DW