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The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly adopted a bill on the protocol on Sweden's accession to NATO.
It was a key step toward expanding the Western military alliance, 19 months after Turkey demanded security-related concessions from Sweden.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly on Tuesday (December 26) discussed the bill on Sweden's accession to NATO, and the ruling Justice and Development Party led by Erdogan, as well as the Republican People's Party and the National Action Party, all supported the bill. In the end, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly voted to approve it.
Oktay, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, said that Sweden has made progress in combating the flow of funds to terrorism, but has not achieved the results that Turkey expects in the fight against terrorism.
Next, Sweden's NATO membership bill will be submitted to Turkey's Grand National Assembly, where the AKP has a majority.
Once passed in parliament, the bill will be signed into law by Erdogan, ending a process that has frustrated some of Ankara's NATO allies and tested Turkey's relations with the West.
However, Oktay downplayed expectations for a swift vote in parliament, telling reporters that the timing of the vote would be decided by the speaker.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the adoption of the bill by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and urged Turkey and Hungary to complete the process of approving Sweden's accession to NATO "as soon as possible."
Erdogan submitted a bill to parliament on October 24 to approve Sweden's accession to NATO, but the agenda for consideration of the bill has since been postponed.
In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, and in May of the same year, Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership at the same time. According to the protocol, all NATO members must unanimously agree to admit new members. Finland was officially allowed to join NATO in April this year, but Sweden's accession protocol has not yet been ratified by Turkey and Hungary.