Türkiye takes final step on Sweden's NATO membership
Ankara has ratified its approval of Sweden's accession to the western NATO alliance as the decision was published in the country's Official Gazette on Thursday. The publication of the accession protocol signed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the publication in the Official Gazette made Türkiye's ratification formal.
- Diplomacy
- AFP
- Published Date: 11:54 | 25 January 2024
- Modified Date: 11:54 | 25 January 2024
Türkiye's official gazette on Thursday published a protocol on Sweden's accession to NATO, a final technical step in Ankara's ratification of the Nordic nation's bid to join the US-led alliance.
The Official Gazette's publication of the law on Sweden's accession to the alliance, which the Turkish parliament approved on Tuesday, ends a nearly two-year saga that tested Ankara's relations with its Western allies.
Erdoğan had earlier signed the document, meaning that Türkiye had completed all its required steps.
Türkiye's green light leaves Hungary as the last holdout in an accession process that Sweden and Finland, which had adhered to decades of military non-alignment, began in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.
Finland became the 31st nation of the alliance last April.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Thursday he was ready to meet his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban to help pave the way for Budapest's quick approval of the bid.
NATO membership applications require unanimous ratifications by all alliance members.