Title: Turkey Officially Approves Sweden’s NATO Membership Bid, Marking Historic Shift
Key Points:
- Turkey formally granted approval to Sweden’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Thursday, bringing Sweden one step closer to concluding over two centuries of neutrality.
- The membership bid, which secured a 287 to 55 vote with four abstentions in Turkey’s Parliament on Tuesday, was officially confirmed when the decision was published in Turkey’s Official Gazette.
- President Joe Biden’s recent call for Congress to endorse Turkey’s request to acquire 40 new F-16 fighter jets was reported to be linked to the NATO deal by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
- NATO requires unanimous approval from its 31 existing member countries for new entries, and Sweden now awaits Hungary’s approval, the last step needed to finalize its bid.
Quotable Insight: “With this, a key milestone has been reached in Sweden’s path towards NATO membership,” emphasized Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Key Figures:
- If Hungary ultimately approves Sweden’s NATO membership bid, the alliance would comprise 32 countries.
Background:
- Motivated by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Sweden decided to pursue NATO membership, breaking over two centuries of neutrality. Finland, alongside Sweden, joined the alliance in April last year.
- Erdogan initially objected to both Sweden and Finland’s memberships, expressing concerns about Sweden’s leniency towards groups deemed terrorists. However, he eventually agreed in July.
- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated his intention to encourage legislators to approve Sweden’s accession. Nevertheless, Laszlo Kover, the Hungarian parliamentary speaker, indicated a lack of urgency in approving the bid.
- In December, Orban suggested a lack of substantial willingness in the country’s parliament to endorse the bid.