Turkey approves to forward Sweden’s NATO bid to parliament
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to submit Sweden’s request to join NATO to the Turkish parliament, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.
Stoltenberg’s remarks come after finishing talks with Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson ahead of a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, due on July 10-11.
“President Erdogan has agreed to forward Sweden’s accession protocol to the Grand National Assembly [the Turkish parliament] as soon as possible and ensure ratification,” Stoltenberg tweeted.
The NATO chief declined to provide a date for the ratification by the Turkish parliament.
Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO in May 2022 prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February but were met with huge rejection from Turkey and Hungary.
Turkey had rejected the NATO bids of the two Nordic countries, citing their alleged support for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an outlawed group that has been engaged in a longstanding insurgency against Turkey since 1984. However, in March, Turkey ratified Finland’s bid.
If the application is ratified, it would represent a significant move in the West’s efforts to counter Russia by strengthening the entire eastern flank of Europe.