Turkey ratifies Sweden's much-delayed NATO bid, ball now in Hungary's court

The Turkish parliament on Tuesday (Jan 23) gave its long-awaited approval to Sweden's NATO membership, pushing the Nordic country significantly closer to the Western military alliance. Hungary is the only other NATO country left to ratify the Swedish membership bid.

Three months after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan submitted a bill which approved Sweden's membership to parliament, the country's MPs voted in favour of ratification late on Tuesday night.

After a four-hour-long debate, 287 lawmakers voted in favour of Sweden's NATO membership, while 55 voted against it. Sweden is now likely to become the 32nd member of the alliance. The Turkish president is likely to sign the ratification document of Sweden and conclude the role of Ankara in the protracted saga in the days ahead.

Taking to social media after the voting, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said, "Today we are one step closer to becoming a full member of NATO Positive that the Grand General Assembly of Turkey has voted in favour of Sweden’s Nato accession.”

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Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said that the vote was “of course good”, but added that the government is now waiting for Erdogan to sign the ratification and send it on. “Of course, we are not finished with the process until it has happened, on the Turkish side,” he said while speaking to Swedish broadcaster SVT.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the approval of Turkey and appealed to Hungary to do the same, appealing Budapest to "complete its national ratification as soon as possible". He added, “Sweden’s membership makes NATO stronger and us all safer.”

The United States further appreciated the approval granted by the Turkish parliament, with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stating on social media that the addition of Sweden to NATO is set to make the alliance "safer and stronger".

Hungary PM says 'reaffirmed' support to Sweden membership

Hungary Prime Minister Victor Orban said on Wednesday that he 'reaffirmed' his country's support to Sweden's NATO membership in a phone call with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.

"I reaffirmed that the Hungarian government supports the NATO membership of Sweden," Orban wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

"I also stressed that we will continue to urge the Hungarian National Assembly to vote in favour of Sweden's accession and conclude the ratification at the first possible opportunity," he added.

Hungary is the last holdout to Sweden's bid to join NATO. Verbal reaffirmation of support may not necessarily indicate that hightly technical, formal process of official ratification will move forward swiftly.

Watch:US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Turkey

Sweden applied to join NATO membership in May 2022, marking a major shift in its security policy after Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Finland had also applied for NATO membership around the same time.

Congratulating Sweden, Finland's outgoing president Sauli Niinisto wrote on X, “I am very glad of the Turkish parliament’s vote to ratify Sweden’s Nato membership. Sweden’s membership will improve security in the Baltic region and make the whole alliance stronger. When Sweden is a member, Finland’s membership will also be completed.”

Hungary’s government had submitted the application for ratifying Sweden's membership in parliament in 2022, however, a final vote has been delayed repeatedly.

(With inputs from agencies)