On January 25, President of Turkey Recep Erdogan officially approved Turkey’s ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership. This information became known from the Official Gazette.
On January 23, the Turkish parliament approved Sweden’s application to join NATO, leaving Hungary as the only country that has not ratified Sweden’s accession to the Alliance.
On Thursday, January 25, Turkey published in the official bulletin the decision to approve Sweden’s NATO membership, completing the ratification process, bringing the country, which was previously non-aligned, closer to joining the military Alliance.
On the same day, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake stated that he expects the country’s president to give final approval for Sweden’s NATO membership within a few days, providing impetus for swift steps towards approval by the U.S. Congress for the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara.
Turkey had postponed Sweden’s accession to the Alliance for over a year, accusing the country of being excessively lenient towards groups that Ankara considers a threat to its security. Turkey demanded action from Stockholm, including steps to combat militants.
Turkey was also angered by a series of demonstrations by supporters of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Sweden, as well as protests involving the burning of the Quran.