Turkey’s national assembly on Tuesday evening ratified Sweden’s NATO membership application, leaving only Hungary as the sole “holdout” in the Nordic country’s accession process.
Out of 346 deputies voting, 287 voted in favor and 55 against, with four lawmakers abstaining.
The application had previously passed the assembly’s foreign affairs committee level last month, although Alliance members subsequently detected “foot-dragging” on the part of Ankara.
Only a signature by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan remains for the official “yea” on the part of Turkey, leaving Viktor Orban’s Hungary as the only Alliance member remaining to ratify the accession.
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022, months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the latter finally joining in April 2023. Sweden, however, had been systematically blocked by Erdogan’s Turkey and a frigid response by Hungary.
