President Recep Tayyip Erdogan must ratify the decision; Hungary is the last obstacle to Sweden's membership in the alliance
The Turkish parliament approved Sweden's accession to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in its session on Tuesday (January 23). Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to approve the decision this week.
With Turkey's approval, Hungary now represents the final obstacle to Swedish NATO membership. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán invited Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to discuss negotiations on the Nordic country's integration into the organization, but received no response.
Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022, but faced resistance from Turkey and Hungary. Turkish opposition to Sweden's accession is linked to the admission of members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, who are considered “terrorists” by Erdogan's government.
Ankara agreed to allow Sweden to join but backed out after the country reportedly reneged on its promise to extradite Kurdish separatists viewed as terrorists by Turkey.
The Hungarians blocked accession because of the Swedish government's criticism of Orbán's government.
In April 2023, Finland officially became the 31st member of NATO after the organization's 30 member countries agreed to membership. The country presented its candidacy to join the military alliance at the same time as Sweden.
