Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has submitted Sweden’s Nato accession bid for ratification by Turkey’s parliament, bringing the Scandinavian country one step closer to joining the western military alliance.
Mr Erdoğan’s decision was announced by Turkey’s communications directorate on Monday, kicking off the process for the country’s parliament to debate and ratify Sweden’s Nato membership.
The Turkish president vowed in July to remove his objections to Sweden joining the bloc, but the process has been held up by parliament’s summer recess and persistent concerns in Ankara that Stockholm has not done enough to counter terrorism and Islamophobia within its borders.
Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg on Monday said he welcomed the Turkish president’s decision and looked forward to a “speedy vote to ratify and to welcoming Sweden as a full Nato ally very soon”.
Ulf Kristersson, Sweden’s prime minister, welcomed Mr Erdoğan’s move to advance the country’s Nato bid to parliament. He said: “We are looking forward to becoming a member of Nato.”
Sweden is facing the toughest security situation since the second World War, according to Mr Kristersson, as it comes under pressure from Russia, Muslim countries, and internally from a spiral in gang violence.
The Scandinavian country was shaken last week when two Swedish football supporters were killed and one injured in a terrorist attack in Belgium. That followed a series of violent protests in the Islamic world, including Turkey, after a wave of Koran burnings in the Nordic country. The backlash included the sacking of Sweden’s embassy in Iraq.
Stockholm passed a new anti-terrorism law this year in an attempt to assuage Turkish demands, and in July a Swedish court sentenced a Turkish man to jail for funding the Kurdistan Workers’ party, a separatist group that has fought a violent insurgency in Turkey for decades. This month, a Swedish man for the first time was convicted on hate speech charges for setting a copy of the Koran on fire.
Turkey’s parliament is controlled by a coalition that is led by Mr Erdoğan’s Justice and Development party, and analysts said the president’s approval is crucial in finalising the ratification process.
Turkey and Hungary are the only two Nato members that have not so far approved Sweden’s accession to the bloc and Budapest is broadly expected to follow Ankara’s lead on the ratification decision. The Hungarian parliament reconvenes on Tuesday.
Stockholm ended its longtime policy of neutrality following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year with its request to join the Nato alliance that counts the US and Europe’s biggest military powers as its members.
Neighbouring Finland, which shares a 1,340km border with Russia, joined Nato in April. The two Nordic countries applied for membership simultaneously, but were decoupled when Ankara and Budapest dropped their objections to Helsinki’s bid.
Mr Erdoğan’s decision to send the Swedish bid to parliament comes as the Turkish president has sought to improve relations with the West and drum up much needed investment from the US and Europe.
Turkey is keen to clinch a deal to purchase billions of dollars worth of F-16 fighter jets. The Biden administration backs the deal, but it has been held up in the US Congress. Many analysts say Washington is unlikely to move without indications Ankara is preparing to move forward with its approval of Sweden’s accession to Nato. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2023