The approval of the Turkish Foreign Relations Commission is a prerequisite for the vote in parliament in Ankara. But the commission meeting was postponed.
Sweden’s application to join NATO has cleared another hurdle before ratification in the Turkish parliament – but a decision has not yet been made.
The proposal was discussed in the External Relations Commission, whose approval is a prerequisite for a vote in Parliament. However, the meeting was adjourned, state news agency Anadolu reported. There is still a need for further clarification, it was said. It was initially unclear when the topic would be put back on the agenda.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he welcomed the fact that the committee had addressed the issue. NATO will become stronger if Sweden joins the alliance. “We look forward to welcoming Sweden as a full alliance partner very soon,” he said. In addition to the approval of the parliament in Turkey, that of the Hungarian parliament is also pending.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected in Berlin on Friday. He signed the accession protocol at the end of October and forwarded it to Parliament. This was preceded by a months-long tug of war.
Turkey had blocked Sweden’s accession to NATO and repeatedly justified it by citing what it saw as Sweden’s inadequate deployment against “terrorist organizations”. Ankara is primarily concerned with the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK and the Syrian Kurdish militia YPG.
Source: Stern
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