The Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs commission on Tuesday approved Sweden’s NATO membership bid in a key step toward enlarging the Western bloc after 19 months of delays in which Ankara demanded security-related concessions from Stockholm.
The commission, controlled by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, voted to back the bid — which Sweden made last year in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — after about four hours of debate, including talks on other matters. It had postponed a vote on the bid after an earlier debate on Nov. 16.
The next step is a vote in the parliament general assembly, where Erdogan’s party also holds a majority. It is also expected to pass there in a vote that could be held within weeks. Erdogan would then sign it into law, concluding a process that has frustrated some of Ankara’s allies and tested its Western ties.
Photo: AFP
Commission head Fuat Oktay played down expectations for a speedy vote in the general assembly, telling reporters in parliament that the parliament speaker would decide on timing.
“The 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,” Oktay said.
Parliament is set for a two-week recess early next month.
In a statement following the commission’s approval, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billstrom said that Sweden welcomed the move and looked forward to joining NATO.
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