(Bloomberg) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked the country’s parliament to ratify Sweden’s application to join NATO, a crucial step in the Nordic nation’s bid to become a member of the military alliance after almost a year and a half of delays.
Sweden’s inclusion in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which would realign the security dynamic in Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, will be debated by the Turkish parliament’s foreign-relations committee before a final vote at the assembly, where Erdogan’s ruling AK party and its allies hold a majority of the seats.
Erdogan’s decision represents a major breakthrough for NATO’s push to strengthen its defenses after Russia’s incursion, having already admitted Finland in a similar process. Turkey was one of the last hold-outs preventing Sweden’s membership along with Hungary, accusing the government in Stockholm of failing to do enough to crack down on supporters of separatist Kurdish militants that Turkey regards as terrorists.
Bringing Sweden into the NATO fold would add a technologically sophisticated military that has participated in the alliance’s exercises for decades. The Nordic country has a large defense industry stemming from its Cold War policy of being self-sufficient for its military needs, and is one of the world’s largest arms exporters per capita and the smallest nation that has developed modern fighter jets.
“I look forward to a speedy vote to ratify,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. “This will make the whole alliance stronger and more secure.”
Adding the biggest Nordic nation to NATO means eight of the nine countries that border the Baltic Sea will be in the bloc — with just Russia outside. Sweden’s inclusion improves supply routes to neighboring Finland, which guards a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border with Russia, and helps defend Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Turkey’s benchmark Borsa Istanbul 100 Index extended its gain to as much as 3.8% after Erdogan’s move, which was hailed by Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson as “gratifying.”
“Now what is left is for the parliament to process the issue,” Kristersson said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We look forward to becoming members of NATO.”
Recent anti-Turkish demonstrations in Sweden and public burnings of the Koran had hampered the process. Erdogan has also linked the membership issue to Turkey’s negotiations with the US to purchase F-16 fighter jets.
Still, there’s no guarantee Turkey’s parliament will move quickly unless ordered by Erdogan. Lawmakers of the AK Party and nationalist ally MHP are sensitive to any sign of tolerance by Stockholm toward supporters of Kurdish militants and protests they deem disrespectful and could well drag their feet before taking a vote on the floor.
Stockholm has criticized burnings of the Koran, yet the country’s courts have overturned police decisions to deny permits to demonstrations involving the desecration of the book, ruling that freedom of speech must be prioritized unless there is an immediate threat to public safety.
Sweden has pledged to cooperate more closely with Turkey to prevent the activities of the Kurdish PKK group, which is designated a terrorist organization by the European Union. Since submitting its NATO bid, the Nordic country has also introduced new, stricter laws on terrorism, and approved arms sales to Turkey.
As for the F-16 war planes, US officials have said the ratification of Sweden’s application to NATO is a prerequisite for allowing a deal to go through.
Hungary’s approval of Sweden would still be needed, with Prime Minister Viktor Orban previously demanding “respect” from Sweden before his country ratifies its application, citing criticism over the erosion of the rule of law in Budapest. That said, Hungary’s parliament approved the Finnish bid swiftly after the Turkish president’s announcement.
Source : BNNBloomberg
