Turkish president approves ratification of Sweden's NATO membership

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has approved the ratification of Sweden's membership in NATO, according to a protocol published in the country's official gazette on Thursday, reported Xinhua.

Erdogan published the law two days after the Turkish parliament passed the bill to approve Sweden's bid to join the Western military alliance.

Erdogan "decided to publish the law adopted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly regarding Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty, and signed the presidential decree regarding Sweden's accession protocol to NATO and approved the relevant protocol," his office said.

The Turkish parliament voted on the bill after a debate in the Grand National Assembly on Tuesday night. A total of 346 lawmakers participated in the voting, with 287 votes in favor, 55 against, and four abstentions.

With Türkiye's ratification, Hungary remains the only NATO member country that hasn't approved Sweden's application for NATO membership.

Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO after Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine in 2022. Their accession requires the unanimous approval of all members of NATO.

Türkiye approved Finland's NATO bid in March last year but has slow-walked Sweden's accession, demanding the Nordic country further address Ankara's security concerns.

In October last year, Erdogan signed Sweden's NATO accession protocol and submitted it to the parliament for ratification.

The foreign affairs committee of the Turkish parliament approved Sweden's NATO bid following deliberation in December last year, in a key step to put it to a full parliamentary vote.

Türkiye has been under pressure from the United States to approve Sweden's accession to NATO, but Ankara was holding up its ratification to press Washington to allow the sale of F-16 fighter jets.