Turkish parliamentary committee to discuss Sweden’s NATO protocol this week

The Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee announced on December 22 that it has added Sweden’s NATO accession protocol to their December 26 meeting agenda.

The Foreign Affairs Commission announced on December 22 that it has included the “Proposal for a Law on the Approval of the Ratification of the Protocol on the Accession of the Kingdom of Sweden to NATO” on the agenda of the Commission meeting to be held on December 26.

The meeting will consider 10 bills on the ratification of international agreements. Number 10 on the agenda is the draft law on the approval of the ratification of the protocol on Sweden’s accession to NATO.

The Commission started discussing the bill in November and decided to postpone negotiations on Sweden’s accession to NATO amid discussions on Turkiye’s veto. The Commission did not give a date for this.

In October, President Erdoğan signed the protocol for Sweden’s membership and submitted the membership to parliament for approval.

The Turkish Grand National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Commission had to approve the protocol first, but at its first meeting in November, the commission decided to postpone the deliberations. 

High-level defence meeting in the US

The day before the Commission’s announcement, on December 21, a meeting of the High-Level Defence Group between Türkiye and the United States was held in Washington, where the defence delegations of the two countries met.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of National Defence, the meeting was held in a positive and constructive atmosphere, and “discussions and exchanges of views were held on bilateral defence, military training, and defence industry cooperation, as well as regional and international security issues.”

Sweden’s NATO membership has become a hot topic in diplomatic relations, especially with the United States in regard to the F-16 sale to Türkiye.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the issue came up in a phone call with US President Joe Biden on December 14. Erdogan said that Biden told him that if Sweden’s NATO membership is accepted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly, he would get the F-16s Türkiye wants through Congress.

Ankara had applied to the US to buy 40 F-16 fighter jets and 79 modernization kits in 2021. Some members of Congress opposed the sale, which required their approval in the US Congress.

The Commission had postponed deliberations

Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but faced vetoes from Türkiye and Hungary. Ankara had blocked two countries’ NATO accession, saying it expected the two countries to take concrete steps, especially in the “fight against terrorism.”.

Ankara, which approved Finland’s membership in April after diplomatic traffic, did not lift its veto on Sweden, especially amid strained relations following the Koran burning protests.

Following intensive contacts, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave the green light to the issue at the NATO summit in July. He signed the protocol and submitted it to Parliament in October.

The protocol, which will first be discussed in the Foreign Affairs Commission, needs to be put to a vote in the Turkish Grand National Assembly for approval.

The Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission had discussed Sweden’s membership but decided to postpone deliberations at its November meeting.