The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Parliament approved Sweden’s candidacy for NATO membership.
The general assembly of the Turkish parliament now needs to give its final green light before Sweden can officially become a full NATO member. However, no date for this plenary vote has been set.
The unanimous approval of all current NATO member countries is required for any new state to join the military alliance.
The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, should then sign the law, which would conclude this process.
Erdoğan has also linked the approval of Sweden’s accession to the sale of F-16 fighter jets by the United States to Turkey — something that’s currently pending approval by the U.S. Congress.
Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year, after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Ankara ratified Finland’s bid but raised objections to Sweden’s bid because Stockholm is said to protect groups Turkey considers terrorists.
