Turkey's parliament is unlikely to hold a full vote on Sweden's bid to join NATO before mid-January, parliamentary sources told AFP Thursday.As the parliament will be in two-weeks recess, a timetable also "depends on the negotiations with the Americans", another parliamentary source told AFP.
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The Turkish parliament was Tuesday set to resume debate on approving Sweden's bid to join NATO, a thorny issue that was further complicated after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan linked it to Ankara's request for F-16 fighter jets from its ally the United States.In December, Erdogan suggested that parliament will only act on Sweden if the US Congress approves Turkey's requested purchase of dozens of F-16 fighter jets and spare parts, and if other NATO allies including Canada lift arms embargoes im
Sweden edged closer toward joining NATO on Tuesday after the Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee greenlighted a protocol for the Nordic country’s membership in the military alliance. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dropped his objection to Sweden’s membership during a NATO summit in July, but it took him several months to send the bill to parliament for ratification and weeks for the parliamentary committee to give its consent. Sweden and Finland abandoned their decades-long neutrality and sought membership in NATO amid heightened security concerns following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Putin said in a Russian state television interview that fears of Russia fighting NATO members directly are "complete nonsense." The ISW believes Putin's reassurances are better interpreted as threats.