Sweden edges closer to NATO after a vote in the Turkish Parliamentary Commission.

On Tuesday, a significant step toward expanding the Western bloc was taken when the Turkish Parliament’s foreign affairs panel approved Sweden’s application to join NATO. This approval came after 19 months of delays, during which Ankara wanted concessions from Stockholm about security-related issues.

The committee, dominated by the AK Party of President Tayyip Erdogan, decided to support the proposal Sweden launched the previous year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The vote came after around four hours of debate, during which discussions were held on various other topics. Following an earlier discussion on November 16, it was decided to postpone a vote on the proposal.

Following this, there will be a vote in the general assembly of the Parliament, which is also where Erdogan’s party maintains a majority representation. It is also anticipated that it will be approved there in a vote that may take place within the next several weeks. Following that, Erdogan would put his signature on it, ending a process that has caused some of Ankara’s friends to feel disappointed and has put its Western connections to the test.

Fuat Oktay, the head of the commission, told reporters in Parliament that the speaker of Parliament would decide on the date of the vote. He hoped that the general assembly would vote quickly.

According to the statement, “The decision to submit it to the general assembly has been made now; however, this should not be interpreted as a sign that it will pass the general assembly with the same speed.” Oktay stated that there is no such thing as a fact. At the beginning of January, the Parliament will take a break for two weeks.

Those who voted to ratify included Erdogan’s AK Party, its nationalist MHP allies, and the principal opposition CHP. On the other hand, the minor Islamist Felicity party and the right nationalist Iyi party voted against it.

The Swedish Foreign Minister, Tobias Billstrom, stated the commission’s approval. He expressed his satisfaction with the measure and his eagerness to become a member of NATO.

It was “excellent news” that the panel gave its permission, according to Boris Ruge, who is the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Security Policy at NATO. He made this statement on the social messaging platform X.

In an interview with Reuters, Oguz Kaan Salici, a CHP congressman and a commission member, stated that his party had requested an explanation for the changes since the meeting on November 16. He also stated that he anticipated that all parties would adopt a comparable situation in the general assembly.

We were curious about what had changed when we compared this meeting to the one before it. As the primary opposition party, we requested that this matter be clarified. They informed us of the actions that Sweden has taken and the priority that Turkey has in terms of its foreign policy, and they openly alluded to the discussions between President Erdogan and Vice President Joe Biden of the United States,” Salici added.

OBJECTIONS OF THE TURKISH
In May of the previous year, Erdogan voiced his opposition to Sweden and Finland’s demands to become members of the alliance. He cited the Swedish and Finnish governments’ support of individuals that Turkey considers to be terrorists, as well as their trade embargoes on defense-related goods.

Turkey decided in April to ratify Finland’s proposal. Still, Sweden was not allowed to participate until Turkey took more measures to crack down on local members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is also considered a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States.

In response, Stockholm presented a new anti-terrorism statute that makes it illegal to be a member of a terrorist organization. The city stated that it had upheld its half of a pact that was reached the previous year.

Additionally, Sweden, along with other NATO members Finland, Canada, and the Netherlands, made measures to modify Turkey’s restrictions regarding the shipment of weaponry.

Even though Hungary, a member of NATO, has not yet accepted Sweden’s membership, Turkey is considered the most significant obstacle to adding the Scandinavian nation to the military alliance and strengthening its defenses in the Baltic Sea region.

In October, Erdogan submitted Sweden’s proposal to the Swedish Parliament. However, he has also connected the eventual acceptance of the proposal to the consent of the United States to sell F-16 fighter fighters to Turkey. Following a conversation with Vice President Biden earlier this month, he stated that the United States government was considering ratifying the request.

There is no set deadline for the United States Congress to approve the sale, and Turkey faces some resistance from Congress on delaying NATO membership and its human rights record. Despite this, the White House is in favor of the sale.

Amid the conflict in Ukraine, several members of the alliance have become irritated by Turkey’s harsh diplomacy over the last 18 months. In contrast to its friends, the Turkish government maintains positive ties with both Moscow and Kyiv. It is opposed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as well as the sanctions imposed by the West on Russia.