Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signed a protocol for Sweden’s admission into NATO and sent it to parliament for ratification, his office said on Monday. On the same day, he reportedly ordered the leaders of Hamas to leave the country.
The news was welcome first of all by Sweden and also by the international community that seemed surprised of Erdogan’s move amid the crisis in the Middle East. It should be noted that Erdogan favors a 2-states solution with Turkey as “guarantee power.”
Good news today from Ankara. President Erdoğan has handed the Swedish ratification documents to the 🇹🇷 parliament. 🇸🇪 stands ready to contribute to the security of the Alliance. #StrongerTogether https://t.co/LMZZa39MCx
— Sweden at NATO (@SwedenNato) October 23, 2023
Erdogan had been delaying ratification of Sweden’s membership, accusing Stockholm of being too soft on Kurdish militants and other groups he considers to be security threats, the Associated Press recalled in a report.
All 31 NATO allies must endorse Sweden’s membership. Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify it.
It was not immediately known when Sweden’s membership would come to the floor.
Sweden and its neighbor Finland abandoned decades of military nonalignment after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022, seeking protection under NATO’s security umbrella. Finland joined the military alliance in April.
PS I’m very much curious to know the bargain deal Erdogan sealed with the NATO, the USA, Israel and all parties involved because Turkey never agrees to give something without receiving something in return.
