After extensive deliberations exceeding four hours, Turkey’s parliament has greenlit Sweden’s application to join NATO, overcoming one of the final obstacles in the alliance’s expansion process, which experienced a 20-month standstill.
The decision, backed by President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party, their nationalist MHP allies, and the primary opposition CHP, garnered widespread support in the general assembly. However, it faced opposition from nationalist, Islamist, and leftist parties.
President Erdogan is expected to promptly sign the bill into law, concluding a protracted ordeal that has simultaneously caused frustration among some of Ankara’s Western partners and allowed Turkey to secure specific concessions.
With Turkey’s approval, Hungary remains the sole NATO member pending to ratify Stockholm’s accession to the alliance.