After several months of blockade, the Turkish parliament approved Sweden’s entry into NATO

The Turkish Parliament approved it in a general vote on Tuesday Sweden’s entry in natoIt followed months of a blockade because the Scandinavian country was deemed not to be taking enough action against Kurdish militants, whom the government there considered terrorists. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Overall, 287 votes were cast in favor, 55 against, 4 abstained, while the remaining members of the chamber of 600 MPs did not participate in the vote.

During the debate, both presented their side AKP, the Islamist party that has ruled Turkey since 2002Like the Social Democratic CHP, the largest part of the opposition.

Meanwhile, some smaller formations, such as the Islamist Sadat and the leftist TIP in the opposition, as well as the radical Huda-Par, allied with the AKP, expressed their disapproval of NATO as a whole.

“Today we have taken another step towards full integration into NATO”The Swedish Prime Minister responded, ulf christersonOn the social network X.

Facing pressure from Turkey, Sweden reformed its constitution and adopted a new anti-terrorism law.

In recent months, there have been several incidents in Swedish territory, including the burning of copies of the Quran, Islam’s holy book, as well as against President Erdogan himself.

President of Türkiye Erdogan had added the approval of the agreement with the United States to sell F-16 fighter-bombers to Turkey, a transaction that had been planned for years, but had been blocked by the US Congress.

Although it is unclear at what point the negotiations are at, the Turkish parliament has now endorsed Sweden’s entry into the Atlantic alliance, requiring only the approval of ultranationalist-ruled Hungary. viktor orbanSince the entry of a new country into the group must be approved by all 31 of its members before it can take effect.

Last year Budapest indicated it would not oppose Sweden’s annexation if Turkey agreed.

Today, Orban invited his Swedish counterpart Ulf KristerssonTo discuss the issue of confirming Sweden’s accession to NATO.

“The topics of discussion between the heads of government will be Sweden’s accession to NATO, strengthening bilateral relations and deepening mutual trust,” Orbán’s press officer said. bertlan havasAccording to the local press, without specifying a possible date of the meeting.

While Turkey opposed Sweden’s entry due to Stockholm’s perceived sanction against Kurdish “terrorism”, Hungary has justified its refusal for various reasons ranging from Swedish politicians’ criticism of Hungarian government policies to the refusal of delegates to attend.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Sweden and Finland decided to abandon their historical neutrality and applied to join NATO.

After a few months, Turkey and Hungary both gave the green light to Finland’s annexation, but Sweden’s annexation was still blocked.

Orban is closest to EU leader Vladimir Putin And it is the only community member within NATO that opposes arms shipments to Ukraine.

Members of Orbán’s government, whose party FideszThe Hungarian Parliament has an absolute majority, even confirming that ministers support Sweden’s accession, but their representatives are in trouble due to alleged “lies” spread by the Scandinavian country’s politicians about the democratic drift in the central oppose. European Countries. ,

The opposition Socialist Party today requested that an extraordinary parliamentary session be called to discuss the issue of ratification.

(With information from EFE and AFP)