by Turkey’s parliament voted Tuesday to allow Sweden to join NATO, putting the Nordic country one step closer to joining the military alliance and easing a diplomatic stalemate that has clouded Turkey’s relations with the United States. and hampered Western efforts to isolate Russia over its war in Ukraine. .
The measure was approved after a vote of 287 to 55 and four abstentions in the 600-member body. It will come into force once it is published in the country’s official gazette, which is usually a quick formality. That would make Hungary the only NATO member that has not approved Sweden’s accession, depriving the alliance of the unanimity needed to add a new member.
The passage of the bill is a big moment for NATO, paving the way to expand its deterrence against Russia at a time when some of its members are struggling to provide Ukraine with enough weapons to push back the Russian invasion.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement late Tuesday that he welcomed the news from Turkey, according to Reuters. But, he said, “I am also counting on Hungary to complete its national ratification as soon as possible.”
He continued: “Sweden has fulfilled its commitments. Sweden’s membership makes NATO stronger and all of us safer.”
Sweden’s accession would open a vast expanse of Nordic territory to possible military operations by the alliance and would extend to Sweden the automatic protection of other members if attacked.
“Being a full ally means that if Sweden is under pressure or attack, there is no debate” about whether NATO will defend it, said Camille Grand, former NATO deputy secretary general. “As we see very clearly with Ukraine, you can be NATO’s closest partner, but if you are not an ally, the debate is different.”
Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser, wrote on Platform X that Turkey’s approval of Sweden’s candidacy had been a priority for Biden. “Sweden is a strong and capable defense partner whose membership in NATO will make the United States and the Alliance safer and stronger.” Mr. Sullivan wrote.
Despite Tuesday’s vote, Sweden’s rapid accession is not guaranteed. Turkey could delay submitting its formal approval to the alliance, and it is not yet clear when Hungary, whose parliament is in recess until February 15, could give its consent.
Still, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson praised the “positive” developments in Turkey. writing on social media platform“Today we are one step closer to becoming a full member of NATO.”
On Tuesday, before the vote, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary invited the Prime Minister of Sweden to Hungary to “negotiate” Sweden’s accession, suggesting that Hungary could seek concessions in exchange for its support.
“I am convinced that strong mutual trust must be the basis of any political and security agreement between Sweden and Hungary,” Orban wrote in a letter to the prime minister, which was initially reported by Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet and confirmed by Swedish officials. .
Orban said he believed “more intensive political dialogue can help strengthen mutual trust between our countries.”
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom responded that he saw “no reason to negotiate” but that the two countries could “dialogue and continue discussing issues,” according to the Swedish news agency TT.
The vote in Turkey came nearly two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when Sweden and Finland, which had been militarily non-aligned for years, formally requested to join the alliance. The process requires unanimous support from the body’s members (currently 31), with the fastest granting their approvals.
But Turkey and Hungary, whose leaders have maintained cordial relations with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia during the war in Ukraine, resisted. Hungarian officials have rejected Swedish criticism of the state of Hungarian democracy, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey accused the two Nordic nations of neglecting his country’s security concerns by failing to crack down on dissidents whom Turkey considers terrorists.
Officials in other NATO countries quietly accused Erdogan of exploiting alliance rules for domestic political gain while publicly pressuring Turkey to change its stance.
Sweden has taken extensive steps to mitigate Turkey’s objections, including amending its constitution to allow for stricter anti-terrorism laws.
In March, both Hungary and Turkey changed course on Finland and their respective parliaments approved the country’s accession. Shortly afterward he joined NATO.
The President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, wrote on social networks On Tuesday he said he was “very pleased that the Turkish Parliament has voted in favor of ratifying Sweden’s membership in NATO.” And he added: “Sweden’s membership will improve security in the Baltic Sea area and strengthen the entire alliance. “When Sweden becomes a member, Finland’s membership will also be full.”
Leaders from Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia joined his sentiments.
Even after Finland’s acceptance into NATO, Erdogan continued to resist Sweden’s offer, offering reasons that changed over time and provoking a diplomatic guessing game over which issue he would drag into the debate next.
Before a summit in July, Stoltenberg announced that Turkey had agreed to back Sweden’s membership bid. Days later, Erdogan told Turkish media that Sweden still needed to do more and that the issue lay with Parliament, not him.
Also hampering talks on the issue were public burnings and desecrations of the Koran by protesters in Sweden, prompting Turkey to Swedish authorities accused of not doing enough to combat Islamophobia.
Erdogan also linked the Swedish issue to Turkish demands from other NATO members. He suggested that simultaneously with Turkey’s support for Sweden, the United States approve the sale of a $20 billion package of American-made F-16 fighter jets and upgrade kits for aircraft Turkey already has. The Biden administration has said it supports the deal, but has faced resistance in Congress, with members citing the country’s human rights record and its stance toward Sweden, frustrating the Turks.
Sweden’s approval appeared to move forward in December, when the Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee approved the measure and sent it to the full assembly, in which Erdogan’s political party and its allies have a majority. But a vote was not scheduled until this week.
Sinem Adar, associate at the Berlin-based company Turkish Applied Studies CenterHe said it was unclear what Erdogan had gained by delaying Sweden’s offer and that the move had cost Turkey by making the country appear unpredictable and untrustworthy to its NATO allies.
“There is a very significant erosion of trust, which was already weakened, between Turkey and its allies in NATO because at a very important geopolitical moment, Turkey put its own interests before the interests of the alliance,” he said.
Hungarian officials have said they would not block Sweden’s offer if Turkey approved it, but the timing of Hungary’s decision was not immediately clear, nor were the reasons for its delay.
Over the past year, Hungary has given a wide range of explanations for the delay. He initially cited technical reasons related to Parliament’s calendar, but later complained about a video shown in Swedish schools that cast a poor light on Orban’s government.
Grand, a former NATO deputy secretary general and now a defense expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said he assumed leaders in Budapest and Ankara were coordinating their moves and had become “more cautious” in predicting the rapid entry of Sweden. in the alliance.
But after almost two years, he added, “I think we’re at a point now where it’s ridiculous to delay it any further.”
The report was contributed by Andrew Higgins from Warsaw, Safak Timur from istanbul, Christina Anderson from Bastad, Sweden and kaly soto From london.
