Turkey has approved Sweden’s membership bid. Turkey’s parliament ratified the NATO membership bid of Sweden.
This cleared the biggest remaining hurdle to expand the Western military alliance after a delay of 20 months.
Turkey’s general assembly voted 287-55 to approve the application that Sweden first made in 2022.
The applications from countries seeking to join the alliance are required to be approved by all NATO members.
After Parliament approval, Turkiye President Erdogan will sign the bill into law.
The Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, said his country is one step closer to becoming a full member of NATO.
NATO’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, welcomed the vote.
He expects Hungary to ratify Sweden’s application as soon as possible.
When Sweden becomes a member of NATO, the complete Baltic coastline will become a NATO territory, with the exceptions of the Russian coast and Kaliningrad.
