President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed Sweden’s NATO Accession Protocol.
In a post shared on the Presidency’s Communications Directorate’s social media account, it was stated that “Sweden’s NATO Accession Protocol was signed by our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on October 23, 2023, and submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly.”
The members of the Turkish parliament will vote on the protocol. If passed, Sweden will be the 32nd member of NATO following Finland’s participation.
Finland became NATO’s last member in April this year, upon depositing its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the United States at NATO Headquarters in Brussels.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had announced that President Erdoğan agreed to promptly submit Sweden’s NATO accession protocol to the Turkish Parliament.
This statement came following discussions between Stoltenberg, Erdoğan, and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on the eve of the NATO summit in Lithuania.
Ankara had previously raised objections to Sweden’s NATO accession, causing delays since last year.
Breaking News Turkey with agencies