OAN’s Abril Elfi
1:45 PM – Tuesday, January 23, 2024
The Turkish Parliament has officially approved Sweden’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership bid after months of deliberation.
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On Tuesday, the Parliament plenary in Ankara voted 287-55 in accepting Sweden’s application to NATO.
Before the document is filed with the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C., the papers will be returned to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey for his signature and final approval.
Erdogan, who recently endorsed Sweden’s admission, is anticipated to sign.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO in May of that same year. NATO’s border with Russia was doubled when Finland joined the alliance in April 2023, however, Sweden’s accession process has been plagued with setbacks.
Analysts maintain that NATO would benefit from Sweden’s entry by expanding its northern reach and strengthening its defense of the east.
Prior to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military actions, Sweden and Finland had avoided membership in military alliances.
Hungary is the only member state that has not yet ratified Sweden’s accession.
In order to negotiate the conditions of Sweden’s membership bid, Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary, announced on Tuesday that he had extended an invitation to Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister of Sweden, requesting that he visit Hungary to negotiate and discuss his terms.
“Today I sent an invitation letter to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson for a visit to Hungary to negotiate on Sweden’s NATO accession,” Orbán said on X (Twitter).
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