Turkey’s Erdogan submits Sweden’s bid for NATO membership to parliament

Move comes after months of back-and-forth with western countries over new additions to alliance amid war in Ukraine.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has submitted a bill on Sweden’s NATO membership bid to parliament, after months of back-and-forth with western countries over the issue.

Erdogan’s office said on Monday that the bill for ratification had been sent to parliament, but it remains unclear when the bill will be brought to the floor.

Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson welcomed the move.

“Now it remains for the parliament to deal with the question,” Kristersson said on social media platform X. “We look forward to being a NATO member.”

In order for new countries like Sweden to join the transatlantic military alliance, all 31 current NATO members must endorse their effort. Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify Sweden’s bid, bringing them into conflict with other NATO members who have backed the bid.

Erdogan has previously clashed with Stockholm over Sweden’s approach towards Kurdish groups that Turkey considers security threats, but said in July that it would not block Sweden’s accession to NATO.