The Turkish parliament\u2019s foreign affairs commission has approved Sweden\u2019s NATO membership bid. According to Turkish media, the decision, taken on Tuesday, is a key step towards enlarging the military alliance after 19 months of delays in which Ankara demanded security-related concessions from Stockholm. The commission, controlled by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan\u2019s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), voted to back the bid made by Sweden last year after Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. The next step is a vote by the full parliament, in which the AK Party and its allies hold a majority. Sweden\u2019s NATO membership is expected to pass, and then the measure would go to Erdogan. If he signs it into law, he would conclude a process that has taken nearly two years and frustrated some of Ankara\u2019s allies in the West. Commission head Fuat Oktay, however, played down expectations for a speedy vote in the full Grand National Assembly, telling reporters that the speaker would decide on a timing for the vote. Parliament also has a two-week recess in early January. \u201cThe decision to submit it to the general assembly has been made now, but this should not be interpreted as [a sign] that it will pass the general assembly with the same speed. There is no such thing,\u201d Oktay said. In a statement after the commission\u2019s approval, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said Sweden welcomed the move and looked forward to joining NATO. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg also hailed the approval by the Turkish parliamentary commission. \u201cI welcome the vote by the Turkish parliament\u2019s Foreign Affairs Committee to ratify Sweden\u2019s NATO membership,\u201d Stoltenberg said, urging Turkey and fellow holdout Hungary to complete their ratifications \u201cas soon as possible\u201d. All NATO members, which now number 31, are required to approve new memberships. Erdogan raised objections in May last year to both Swedish and Finnish requests to join the alliance over what he said was their protection of people whom Turkey accuses of being \u201cterrorists\u201d and over their defence of trade embargoes. Turkey ratified Finland\u2019s bid in April but kept Sweden waiting until it took more steps to crack down on local members of the Kurdistan Workers\u2019 Party (PKK), which Turkey, the European Union and the United States list as a terrorist group. In response, Stockholm introduced a bill that makes being a member of a \u201cterrorist organisation\u201d illegal. Sweden and NATO members Finland, Canada and the Netherlands also took steps to relax arms-export policies affecting Turkey. While NATO member Hungary has also not ratified Sweden\u2019s membership, Turkey is seen as the main roadblock to adding the Scandinavian nation to the military alliance and bolstering its defences in the Baltic Sea region. Erdogan had also linked Turkey\u2019s ratification of Sweden\u2019s membership with the US approval of sales of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. After a call with US President Joe Biden this month, he said Washington was considering the ratification to move on the request.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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