Türkiye, parliament will not accelerate the vote on Sweden’s accession to NATO

The issue of accession Sweden to the Alliance “will be discussed when the time comes, according to the agenda of the foreign affairs committee. – Everything that is urgent for other countries may not be urgent for us,” Fuat Oktay said in parliament.

The day before, the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg, asked during the meeting of the Nordic Council in Oslo about when Sweden could be expected to join the Alliance, he only replied that he was working hard to make it happen as soon as possible. – I cannot give a date because the decision on the ratification of the Swedish application rests with national parliaments – explained Stoltenberg.

President Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a ratification request to parliament, regarding Sweden’s accession to NATO on October 23. No information has been provided so far on the possible date of voting on this motion.

Earlier, the Turkish portal Duvar reported that the Turkish authorities are ready to postpone formally approving Sweden’s accession to NATO until it receives a signal of US support for its application to purchase F-16 aircraft.

Ankara has been blocking Sweden’s accession to NATO since the beginning of Stockholm’s accession efforts, emphasizing that the Swedish government should do more to fight Kurdish fighters in its country and other groups that Turkey considers a threat to its national security.

Türkiye is the last – next to Hungary – a NATO country, which has not ratified Sweden’s admission to the Alliance. Both countries are known for good political and economic relations with Russia, and their leaders – with Vladimir Putin. Accession requires the consent of all allies.