Sweden cleared an obstacle to joining NATO on Tuesday when Turkish lawmakers confirmed the non-aligned country’s membership in the military alliance after delaying the decision for more than a year.
Lawmakers approved Sweden’s accession protocol 278 votes to 55, with four officials not voting, making Hungary the only NATO ally yet to back the Scandinavian country’s entry.
“Today we are one step closer to becoming a full member of NATO,” said Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at the X.
Turkey has previously accused the country of being too soft on groups that Turkish leaders consider a security threat, including Kurdish militants and members of a network Turkey blames for a failed coup in 2016.
Turkey was also upset by demonstrations filled with supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and Koran-burning protests in Sweden.
Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Turkey’s parliament’s foreign affairs committee approved Sweden’s membership last month.
Turkish lawmakers on Tuesday confirmed Sweden’s membership in NATO, removing a major obstacle to the previously non-aligned country’s entry into the military alliance. AP
Sweden has amended anti-terrorism laws and curbed the PKK’s financial activities, Fuat Oktay, a senior lawmaker in Erdogan’s ruling party and head of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee told parliament.
Sweden also convicted a suspect on charges of money laundering and financing terrorism and extradited another suspect while lifting a ban on arms sales to Turkey, he added.
“PKK-affiliated people no longer find a comfortable space to move in Sweden as they did in the past,” said Oktay.
Turkey’s main opposition party also supports Sweden, although the country’s centre-right and pro-Kurdish parties oppose accepting new allies.
Turkish lawmakers from Toplumsal Ozgurluk or Social Freedom party, foreground left, and Sosyalist Dayanisma Platformu or Socialist Solidarity Platform hold a poster that reads in Turkish: “No occupation, no war for Nato!” AP
“Swedish measures regarding the extradition of wanted criminals or the fight against terrorism remain limited and insufficient,” Musavat Dervisoglu, a lawmaker from the Good Party told parliament.
Erdogan has linked the ratification to the United States signing a request at Turkey’s request to buy 40 new F-16 fighter jets and fighter kits to modernize the country’s existing fleet.
Although President Biden has never officially linked the arms sale to Turkey’s support for Sweden, many top members of Congress have made it clear that they will not support the sale unless and until Turkey approves Sweden’s entry into the alliance.
Sales of F-16 fighter jets are expected to move quickly now, according to White House officials.
Turkish parliamentarians voted in support of Sweden’s bid to join NATO in the Turkish Parliament. AP
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Sweden is “more than willing to be a NATO ally.”
“The time has come for Sweden to become a NATO ally,” added Kirby.
“They have a modern and advanced army – which we are very comfortable with. And they will add significant military capabilities to the alliance.”
People shout slogans during a protest against Sweden’s NATO membership called by Turkey’s Vatan, or Patriotic Party, in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. AP
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Finland became NATO’s 31st member in April.
Now Sweden has to accept Hungary, which has accused Swedish politicians of spewing “outright lies” about the state of Hungary’s democracy.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday he sent a letter to his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, inviting him to Budapest to talk about Sweden and NATO.
NATO requires each allied country to agree to expand its membership.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
