Earlier, Turkish politicians estimated that Sweden’s NATO membership would be ratified in a few weeks at the earliest. Yesterday in Sweden, the media had time to celebrate the progress of the ratification.
The ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership is still awaiting consideration in the Turkish parliament. Yesterday, when the parliament returned from recess, the approval of membership was on the agenda, but it was not discussed.
Today’s agenda also mentions approval of membership, but there is no certainty about the processing schedule. Accepting Sweden’s NATO membership is included in a long list of more than 40 international agreements. Sweden’s case is currently the last.
Yesterday’s parliamentary session was spent discussing the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s fight against the PKK, and there was no time to discuss other topics.
Arms deals affect ratification
The Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee supported Sweden’s NATO membership at a meeting held on Boxing Day.
In the fall, the president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that Sweden’s NATO membership depends on whether Turkey is allowed to buy the coveted F-16 fighter jets from the United States. Erdoğan is too made demandsaccording to which Canada, a member of NATO, should supply the cameras needed for Turkey’s drones.
At the point when the parliament has approved Sweden’s NATO membership, the matter will be returned to Erdoğan for confirmation.
Acceptance of Sweden’s membership may be delayed until Turkey is convinced that the United States is indeed ready to supply fighter jets. That may take time because the trade is opposed in the US Congress.