On Tuesday, Turkey’s Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee gave the green light to Sweden’s NATO membership bid, positioning the matter for a comprehensive parliamentary vote in the near future.
The forthcoming step involves a detailed discussion and voting on the accession protocol within the full Turkish parliament, contingent upon Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus orchestrating a debate. As of now, an exact timeline for this pivotal vote remains undetermined.
This significant progression follows Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent acknowledgment, wherein he expressed aspirations for simultaneous advancements on NATO expansion and Turkey’s ambition to procure 40 F-16 fighter jets alongside approximately 50 modernization kits from the United States.
Facing exclusion from the F-35 fighter jet consortium in 2019 due to its acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, Ankara earmarked a staggering $20 billion for its military aircraft enhancement. While the Biden administration endorsed this sale earlier, formal submission for congressional review by the State Department is pending.
Although congressional endorsement isn’t mandated for the F-16 deal, U.S. legislators retain a 30-day veto prerogative post the State Department’s formal notification. Notably, several influential U.S. lawmakers contemplate obstructing this sale unless Turkey undertakes pivotal foreign policy reforms, emphasizing relations with Russia and reconciling differences with Greece, an EU member.
Last month’s postponement of Sweden’s NATO bid by Turkey’s Foreign Relations Committee culminated in a recent decision to progress with the vote, prompted by a notable discussion between Erdogan and U.S. President Joe Biden. Given Russia’s prolonged military actions in Ukraine, NATO expansion has emerged as a paramount foreign policy agenda for the Biden administration. Turkey and Hungary remain the singular holdout nations yet to endorse Sweden’s NATO aspirations.
Transitioning from their historically neutral stance, both Sweden and Finland formally applied for NATO membership in May 2022, catalyzed by Russia’s incursion into Ukraine. While Finland secured membership by April, Sweden’s bid encounters obstacles. In an attempt to assuage Turkish concerns, Sweden amended its constitutional and counterterrorism frameworks in November 2022.
