Turkey Puts Sweden’s NATO Bid Back on Agenda Next Week

Firat Kozok
·1 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- A Turkish parliamentary committee will resume discussions on Sweden’s NATO membership application next week, putting ratification back on the agenda in a country that’s been a key holdout.

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The Foreign Affairs Committee in Ankara listed Sweden’s bid among the topics for debate on Dec. 26, according to an invitation from the panel’s chairman, Fuat Oktay, seen by Bloomberg.

US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed Sweden’s application during a phone call last week. The White House said they talked about “the importance of welcoming Sweden” as soon as possible.

Erdogan later said Biden pledged to seek congressional approval for the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey if Turkish lawmakers sign off on Sweden’s accession to NATO.

The Foreign Affairs Committee, whose backing is required before a floor vote can proceed, has asked Sweden for what it calls a written anti-terrorism road map and postponed the talks in November.

Turkey and Hungary have been blocking NATO’s northern enlargement. Finland, which also is part of the alliance’s northern expansion after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, joined NATO in April after parliaments in all 30 members countries ratified its entry.

Turkey says Sweden has failed to crack down hard enough on supporters of separatist Kurdish militants it regards as terrorists. Sweden insists it fulfills NATO’s membership criteria and has taken steps agreed with Turkey, such as ending an arms embargo and tightening anti-terror laws.

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