Turkey’s parliament will vote this Tuesday on whether to approve Sweden’s accession to NATO

Turkey’s parliament is expected to approve it this week, ending more than a year of delays that have severely strained relations with its Western allies. membership of Sweden in NATO,

cnn A source said that voting could take place on Tuesday AFP Which can be organized on Thursday.

Hungary would be left out with Turkey’s ratification The last strongholds in the accession process are Sweden and its neighbor Finland. They began in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine nearly two years earlier.

Finland became the 31st member of the US-led defense alliance last April.

Its membership nearly doubled the length of NATO’s border with Russia. and significantly strengthened the security of the three small Baltic countries that joined the bloc after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Sweden and Finland pursued a policy of military non-alignment during the Cold War confrontation between Moscow and Washington.

But Russia’s invasion of its western neighbor sparked the largest and most brutal land war in Europe since World War II, upsetting geopolitical calculations.

Turkish President protests, Recep Tayyip ErdoğanSweden’s entry into NATO reflects its more nuanced stance toward Moscow.

Turkey has benefited from maintaining (and even expanding) trade with Russia while supplying drones and other essential weapons to Ukraine.

Erdogan has been one of the few Western leaders to hold regular meetings and telephone conversations with the Russian president. Vladimir Putin

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Turkish media reported that Putin may make his first wartime visit to Turkey next month.

Erdogan’s objections to Sweden’s candidacy initially focused on the perception that Stockholm had accepted Kurdish groups that Ankara considers “terrorists”.

Sweden has responded tightening its anti-terrorism laws and adopting other security measures demanded by Erdogan.

The Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee approved the Swedish candidacy last month.

But Erdogan has since demanded that Washington fulfill its promise to deliver a batch F-16 fighter For the old Turkish Air Force.

Last month, Erdogan discussed his demands with US President Joe Biden over phone.

US officials argued that Turkey’s request could receive the necessary congressional approval if Sweden joined NATO, a position reaffirmed by the US Secretary of State. anthony blinkenDuring a visit to Istanbul this month.

“We have not weighed in on how prepared we are for Sweden to formally join the alliance,” a State Department deputy spokesperson said. Vedant PatelThis comes after news emerged that Turkey is finally ready to ratify the Swedish candidacy.

“We have long felt that (Sweden) has fulfilled its commitments and we look forward to this process moving forward.”

Some analysts also linked Turkey’s continued delays to Erdogan’s anger toward Washington for supporting Israel’s war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

Erdogan has become one of the Muslim world’s harshest critics regarding the scale of death and destruction inflicted by Israel in response to terrorists’ unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7.

(With information from AFP)