Erdoğan signs Sweden's NATO accession protocol

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed Sweden's NATO accession protocol and sent it to the Parliament.

A post on the Presidency of Communication's X account stated, "Sweden's NATO Accession Protocol was signed by our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on October 23, 2023, and sent to the Turkish Grand National Assembly."

How will the process work?

The Parliament Speaker's Office will first send the protocol to the Foreign Affairs Committee. If the committee approves it, the protocol will be presented to the General Assembly of the Parliament.

If the protocol is also approved in the General Assembly, the parliamentary process will be completed.

About Sweden's NATO membership

Sweden applied for full NATO membership last year. Sweden's accession to the alliance was approved by all member countries except Turkey and Hungary.

After negotiations between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on July 10, an agreement was reached, while Turkey, which opposed Sweden's membership, announced that it would send Sweden's NATO Accession Protocols to the Parliament at a later date.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had stated on September 7 that he expected Sweden's membership to be approved as soon as the Parliament reconvened in the fall in Ankara. (NT/HA/PE)