Türkiye delays decision on Sweden's NATO membership bid

ANKARA

The Turkish Parliament’s foreign affairs committee on Thursday opened debate on Sweden’s bid to join NATO, but adjourned the proceedings until a later date without reaching a decision.

It was not immediately known when the committee would resume its discussions on Sweden's accession protocol or when it would reach Parliament's general assembly for the last stage of the legislative process.

The meeting was adjourned after legislators from Erdogan’s ruling party submitted a motion for a postponement on grounds that some issues needed clarification and that negotiations with Sweden had not “matured” enough.

Committee chairman Fuat Oktay later told reporters that the Swedish ambassador may be invited to the next session to provide further information on steps his country has taken to address Türkiye’s security concerns.

Türkiye has stalled ratifying Sweden’s membership in NATO, accusing the country of being too lenient toward groups that Ankara regards as threats to its security, including terrorist organizations of PKK and FETÖ members that Ankara blames for a failed coup in 2016.

Türkiye has also been angered by a series of demonstrations by supporters of the outlawed PKK in Sweden as well as Quran-burning protests that roiled Muslim countries.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lifted his objection to Sweden’s bid during a NATO summit in July and sent the accession protocol to Parliament for ratification last month. Türkiye's reversal of its position came after Stockholm pledged deeper cooperation with Türkiye on counterterrorism and to support Türkiye’s ambition to revive its EU membership bid. In addition, NATO agreed to establish a special coordinator for counterterrorism.

Earlier this week, Turkish Parliament speaker, Numan Kurtulmus, told his Swedish counterpart Andreas Norlen in a video conference that he hopes the legislative process in Türkiye would be finalized “as soon as possible,” Anadolu reported.

Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional positions of military nonalignment to seek protection under NATO’s security umbrella, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Finland joined the alliance in April, becoming NATO’s 31st member, after Türkiye’s Parliament ratified the Nordic country’s bid.

Türkiye’s agreement on Sweden’s membership has also been linked to Ankara’s efforts to acquire new F-16 fighter planes from the United States and to upgrade its existing fighter fleet. However, both U.S. and Turkish officials have insisted that any such deal would not be tied to Sweden’s NATO membership.