OAN’s James Meyers
2:52 PM – Monday, October 23, 2023
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president of Turkey, submitted the last remaining legislation for the country of Sweden to become a part of NATO.
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On Monday, Erdoğan’s office said that the president had submitted a bill approving membership for Sweden to parliament for ratification.
The move also comes after the Turkish president had continuously delayed ratification of Sweden’s membership, accusing Stockholm of being too soft on Kurdish militants and other groups that his country considers to be security threats.
Turkish officials were also angered when a number of Quran-burning protests broke out recently in Sweden.
Additionally, all 31 NATO allies must endorse Sweden’s membership for them to join NATO. Turkey and Hungary are the only two remaining nations that have yet to ratify it.
Sweden was very welcoming of the move by Turkey.
“Glad to hear that Turkish President Erdoğan has now handed over the ratification documents to the Turkish Parliament,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote on X (Twitter). “Now it remains for Parliament to deal with the issue. We look forward to becoming a member of NATO.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg applauded the latest move by Turkey as well.
“I look forward to a speedy vote to ratify, and to welcoming Sweden as a full NATO ally very soon,” he said in a statement to the Associated Press. “As I told President Erdogan when we spoke on the weekend, this will make the whole Alliance stronger and more secure.”
Sweden and Finland initially sought membership into NATO after Russia and Ukraine’s war began in February 2022.
Turkey lifted their opposition towards Sweden after the Biden administration allowed Turkey to buy 40 F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits from the United States.
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