Turkish Parliament Delays Vote on Sweden’s NATO Membership Bid
The Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs commission has decided to delay a vote on Sweden’s NATO membership bid, marking a significant setback for the Nordic country’s aspirations of joining the Western alliance. After 18 months of waiting, the delay comes as a blow to Sweden’s hopes of joining NATO.
Chairman Fuat Oktay, who is a member of President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, announced that the commission will hold further talks and may bring the bill back on its agenda next week, but did not provide a clear timeline for when the vote would take place.
Oktay stated, “For all of our lawmakers to approve Sweden’s NATO membership, they need to be fully convinced. We will discuss all of these in our (next) commission meeting (on the issue).”
The delay raises concerns about the length of the process, as it could potentially frustrate Ankara’s allies and test its Western ties.
Furthermore, the delay in approving Sweden’s NATO membership comes after Turkish objections over Sweden’s protection of groups that Turkey deems as terrorists. Specifically, Turkey has demanded that Sweden take more steps to rein in local members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group considered to be a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States.
In response to Turkey’s demands, Sweden introduced a new anti-terrorism bill that makes membership of a terrorist organization illegal while also lifting arms export restrictions on Turkey. Despite these measures, Turkish lawmakers expressed reservations and delayed the vote on Sweden’s NATO membership.
The delay also appears to be linked to the purchase request for F-16 fighter jets from the United States. Turkey has suggested that the approval of Sweden’s NATO membership bid is tied to the sale of these jets.
While there is no clear timeline for when the vote will take place, some analysts believe that the bid could be fully ratified by a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Nov. 28-29. However, it remains to be seen whether the Turkish parliament will provide its consent within that timeframe.
The delay comes at a time when Turkey has been at odds with its Western allies over various global conflicts, including its stance on the war in Ukraine. Ankara’s relations with Moscow and Kyiv have also been a point of contention with some of its allies.
As of now, it is uncertain when the vote on Sweden’s NATO membership bid will take place, but the delay has complicated Sweden’s path to joining the Western alliance.