Sweden Moves Closer to Joining NATO After Turkey's Action

The Turkish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee approved Sweden's request to join NATO today, Tuesday, marking a significant step towards expanding the Western alliance after a 19-month delay during which Ankara demanded concessions from Stockholm related to terrorism. The next step is a full vote in the parliament, which is also expected to be approved. This vote is likely to take place within weeks. Following this, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will sign it into law, thus concluding a process that frustrated some of Ankara's allies and served as a test for its relations with the West. Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While Ankara approved Finland's request, it raised objections to Sweden's application over what it described as Stockholm's protection of groups that Ankara considers terrorist.