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Turkey’s parliament on Tuesday ratified Sweden’s NATO membership after more than a year of delays that upset Western efforts to show resolve in the face of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Lawmakers voted 287-55 in favor of the Nordic nation’s bid to become the alliance’s 32nd member after winning public opinion from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Turkish leader is expected to signal Sweden’s ratification in the coming days and conclude Ankara’s role in this long saga.
“Today we are on the verge of becoming a full member of NATO,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on social media after the vote.
NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Turkey’s move and called on Hungary to do the same, urging Budapest to “complete its national ratification as soon as possible. “
The U. S. also applauded the Turkish parliament’s vote, with national security adviser Jake Sullivan claiming on social media that the Swedish NATO club will make the alliance “safer and stronger. “
Turkey’s green light leaves Budapest as the last impediment to the accession process that Sweden and Finland began in reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.
Ankara forced the northern neighbours to split up their applications after finding fault with Sweden and approving Finland after a few rounds of talks.
Finland’s accession last April doubled the length of NATO’s border with Russia and the defenses of three small Baltic states that joined the bloc after the collapse of the former Soviet Union.
– End of non-alignment –
Sweden and Finland pursued a policy of military non-alignment during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the West.
But the Ukraine war upturned geopolitical calculations and forced the two to seek the nuclear protection afforded by the world’s most powerful defence bloc.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban invited his Swedish counterpart to Budapest on Tuesday to discuss the bid, even as tensions have arisen between Stockholm and Budapest.
Orban and Erdogan have maintained smart relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the war in Ukraine.
NATO leaders feared that the Kremlin would try to use the two converted leaders (whether they are regular visitors to Moscow) to sow divisions in the West.
The bloc’s commanders have cast the latest round of expansion as a show of Western resolve in the face of Russia’s aggression.
– Turkey calls for planes –
Erdogan’s objections to Sweden’s bid initially focused on Stockholm’s perceived acceptance of Kurdish groups that Ankara views as “terrorist”.
Sweden has responded by tightening its anti-terrorism law and taking the security measures demanded through Erdogan.
But Erdogan then turned his attention to the broken U. S. commitment to deliver a batch of F-16 fighter jets, which has met resistance in Congress due to perceived turkey backsliding on human rights and clashes with NATO member Greece.
Turkey and Canada will keep their promise to lift a ban on the sale of a key component used in the manufacture of combat drones.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Turkey over two visits in the past three months that the Swedish candidacy’s ratification could help break congressional resistance to the F-16 sale.
Turkish opposition lawmaker Cengiz Candar claimed during the ratification debate on Tuesday that Ankara had “blackmailed” its Western partners during the lengthy negotiation process.
“Turkey has violated three pillars of its foreign policy: predictability, credibility and coherence,” he said before voting in favor of the candidacy.
– Orban speaks –
Hungary has followed Turkey’s lead in Finland’s accession procedure and is expected to broadly support Sweden’s candidacy as soon as possible.
But Orban was embroiled in an unforeseen altercation with Swedish leaders on Tuesday over his invitation to Kristersson to come to Budapest to discuss Stockholm’s bid.
“I invite you to make a stopover in Hungary as soon as possible to exchange views on all issues of not unusual interest,” Orban wrote in the letter seen by AFP.
Orban then added in a message on social media that Kristersson deserves to come to Hungary “to negotiate” Sweden’s membership.
Swedish officials immediately countered that there was nothing to negotiate because — unlike Turkey — Hungary never presented conditions when Sweden was invited at the 2022 NATO summit in Madrid.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said he saw “no reason at this level” to negotiate with Hungary over Stockholm’s NATO bid.
“The time has come for Hungary to take the remaining steps so that we can welcome our Swedish friends into the alliances,” the German Foreign Ministry said after the Turkish vote.
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