Erdogan submits Sweden’s NATO bid to parliament

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday submitted a protocol regarding Sweden’s admission into NATO to his country’s parliament  after delaying the process for months. 

“The Protocol on Sweden's NATO Accession was signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on October 23, 2023 and referred to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey,” the Turkish presidency's communications directorate said in a post on X, previously Twitter. 

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson welcomed the move in a post on X, stressing that Stockholm is “looking forward to becoming a member of NATO.”

Sweden and Finland last year reversed their decades-long tradition of military non-alignment and applied to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Unanimous approval by alliance members is required in order for new countries to join the organization, and Turkey has used this as leverage to pressure Stockholm and Helsinki to counter Kurdish groups it considers as “terrorists” in exchange for Ankara’s “yes” on the accession.

In March, the Turkish parliament approved Finland's NATO bid.

Turkey has continued to oppose Sweden’s candidacy, saying Stockholm has failed to address Ankara’s concerns. Sweden has a large and politically active Kurdish population. 

Following a phone call with US President Joe Biden, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July agreed to Sweden’s accession to the defense alliance, saying he would forward the matter to Turkey’s parliament for ratification as part of an agreement with Sweden’s prime minister.

 It is not clear when the Turkish parliament will vote on the protocol.

Updated at 7:57 PM