The Turkish parliament, led by President Tayyip Erdogan and his majority alliance, is scheduled to vote on Sweden's NATO membership application tomorrow. By adopting this motion, Parliament will overcome the biggest obstacle to the expansion of the Western military alliance after 20 months of delay.
Sweden made its first application to join NATO in 2022, following Russia's largescale invasion of Ukraine. Once parliament ratifies the move, Erdogan is expected to put it into effect within days.
The challenges of Sweden's membership in NATO
Despite Turkey's likely agreement, Hungary will remain the only member state that has not yet agreed to Sweden's membership. The Hungarian Parliament, currently recessed until midFebruary, has vowed not to be the last ally to ratify Sweden's membership.
Both Turkey and Hungary have closer ties with Russia than other members of the U.S.led NATO. While Turkey opposed Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it criticized Western sanctions against Moscow, which in turn warned it would respond if NATO strengthened military infrastructure in the two Nordic states.
Impact of Sweden's accession
Sweden's accession will lead to an improvement in NATO's defense in the Baltic Sea region. Ankara's delayed approval frustrated some of its Western allies and allowed the country to force some concessions.
When Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO in 2022, Turkey surprised some members by objecting to the two countries' alleged protection of the two countries, which Ankara considers terrorists. It also supported Finland's entry in April last year, but kept Sweden waiting along with Hungary.
Diploma
Several factors remain unclear, including the unclear timeline for US Congress approval of the sale of the F16 fighter jet to Turkey, which Erdogan has linked to ratification by Sweden.
However, with the Turkish Parliament meeting at 12:00 GMT and Sweden being one of the first issues to be debated, the world will be eager to see whether Sweden will finally be welcomed as a member of NATO.