Turkey's parliament won't ratify Sweden's NATO membership bid before October, Erdogan says
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses a media conference during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Wednesday, July 12, 2023. NATO leaders gathered Wednesday to launch a highly symbolic new forum for ties with Ukraine, after committing to provide the country with more military assistance for fighting Russia but only vague assurances of future membership. Credit: AP/Pavel Golovkin
VILNIUS, Lithuania — Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Wednesday that Sweden’s NATO membership bid would not be ratified by Turkey’s parliament before October.
He said at a news conference at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, that the process would have to wait until after lawmakers return from a summer recess.
“The parliament is not in session for the upcoming two months … but our target is to finalize this matter as swiftly as possible,” he said.
Turkey on Monday withdrew its objections to Sweden joining the alliance, a step toward the unity that Western leaders have been eager to demonstrate in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The decision by Erdogan was a significant move toward Sweden’s membership and came after days of intensive meetings.
Finland has already become the 31st member of the alliance, and Sweden is on deck to become the 32nd. Both Nordic countries were historically nonaligned until the war increased fears of Russian aggression.
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