The Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee has approved Sweden’s accession to NATO, a crucial milestone in the process for the issue to be considered by a full parliamentary vote. The accession protocol will be voted on by the full parliament once Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus schedules a debate, though as of now, no timeframe has been set.
This development follows Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent statement that his country is seeking progress on NATO expansion and Turkey’s request to purchase 40 F-16 fighter jets and roughly 50 modernization kits from the United States. Turkey had been excluded from a consortium that produces new-generation F-35 fighter jets in 2019 due to its purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, prompting Ankara to seek to upgrade its military aircraft at a cost of $20 billion. While the Biden administration endorsed the sale earlier this year, the State Department has not yet submitted formal notification to Congress for its review. The F-16 sale does not require approval by Congress, but US lawmakers have the right to veto the sale within 30 days following the State Department’s notification for review.
Some high-ranking members of Congress have threatened to block the sale unless Turkey implements key foreign policy reforms, including distancing itself from Russia and improving strained ties with Greece, a member of the European Union. The vote on Sweden’s NATO bid had been delayed, but last week the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee decided to hold the vote following a rare phone call between Erdogan and US President Joe Biden. The Biden administration now considers the expansion of NATO a key foreign policy priority, particularly amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
Sweden and Finland officially applied to join NATO in May 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both Nordic countries have taken steps to move the process along, including lifting de-facto defense embargoes against Ankara. Finland became a member in April, but Sweden’s bid has so far been blocked. In an effort to convince Ankara to drop its objections, Sweden amended its constitution and counterterrorism law in November 2022, addressing concerns raised by Turkey.
The approval of Sweden’s NATO accession by the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee marks a significant step forward in the process, with the full parliamentary vote pending once scheduled by Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus.