Turkey shows readiness to consent Sweden's NATO membership
Date
10/24/2023 8:30:41 AM
(MENAFN) Turkey's President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has taken a significant step towards endorsing Sweden's accession to NATO. Erdogan officially signed Sweden's NATO accession protocol and subsequently submitted it to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for ratification, according to an announcement from his office on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday.
For Sweden's protocol to be confirmed, it first needs to obtain approval from the Turkish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee and subsequently secure a majority vote in the Grand National Assembly. The precise timeline for these crucial votes remains undetermined.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson welcomed this development and expressed anticipation for Sweden's impending NATO membership in a statement on X. The move represents a milestone for the country, signifying a new phase of its international engagement.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg played a pivotal role in advocating for Erdogan to finalize the ratification of Sweden's accession. He reminded Erdogan of his commitment, made in July, to refer the matter to Parliament and underscored that Sweden had fulfilled its part of the agreement in a timely manner.
In an effort to garner Turkey's endorsement for its NATO membership bid, Sweden has taken several noteworthy steps. This includes amending its counterterrorism legislation, resuming arms exports to Turkey, and imposing bans on support for groups like the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) that Ankara designates as terrorist organizations.
Despite these overtures, Turkey expressed dissatisfaction last month, contending that Sweden had not gone far enough in addressing terrorism and Islamophobia. Specifically, concerns were raised about the tolerance shown towards Quran-burning incidents during protests, and Turkey asserted that most of its extradition requests related to terrorism had been obstructed.
MENAFN24102023000045015687ID1107293896
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.