Turkey Poised to Approve Sweden's NATO Membership After Long Wait

Expectations are high that the Turkish parliament will approve Sweden's application to join NATO today, Tuesday, removing the last major obstacle to the expansion of the Western military alliance. The Turkish parliament's general assembly, which is dominated by the ruling coalition led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is set to vote on Sweden's membership after nearly 20 months since Stockholm filed the request following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Once the parliament endorses the request, it will be sent to Erdoğan for signature, making it effective within days, leaving Hungary as the only member that has not approved Sweden's accession. Hungary has stated that it believes NATO membership "is not a priority" for Sweden based on its actions. Hungary has pledged not to be the last ally to ratify Sweden's membership; however, its parliament is on recess until mid-February. Turkey and Hungary maintain better relations with Russia compared to other NATO members led by the United States. Turkey has criticized Western sanctions on Moscow despite opposing Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has threatened to respond if NATO enhances military infrastructure in the Nordic countries, Finland and Sweden. Turkey's delay in approving Sweden's membership has frustrated some of its Western allies, but it has allowed Ankara to extract some concessions.