According to RBC: Turkey has notified NATO that it will not ratify Sweden's application to join the bloc by the meeting of the alliance's foreign ministers, which will be held on November 28-29, Reuters reports, citing sources. Last week, the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee postponed a vote on Sweden's application to join NATO in order to continue negotiations on the topic, the agency writes. According to him, representatives of individual NATO member countries expected that the ceremony of Sweden's admission to the bloc would be held within the framework of the meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels. As Bloomberg wrote in October, citing a representative of the Swedish government, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg named the dates of November 28-29 in a letter to members of the bloc as the latest for Sweden to join it.
Turkey's parliament's foreign affairs committee is likely to resume discussions on approving the application on Nov. 28 or 29, one of the sources told Reuters. To complete ratification, the bill must first be approved by Turkey's foreign affairs committee and then put to a parliamentary vote, which could take place in a few days or weeks. After that, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan must sign the law. Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO in May 2022. Finland became a member of the bloc in April 2023, and discussions on Sweden's bid are still ongoing. To join the bloc, countries must approve the application of all NATO members (31 countries).
Turkey and Hungary have long opposed Sweden's entry into the military bloc, but on October 23, Erdogan signed a protocol on Sweden's accession to NATO and sent it to parliament for approval. Prior to this, Turkey demanded that Sweden extradite supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK, Ankara considers them terrorists) and lift the ban imposed in 2019 on arms exports to Turkey. In addition, the Turkish authorities were dissatisfied with the actions with the burning of the Koran, carried out by activists in Sweden. Hungary has also not yet ratified Sweden's accession to NATO. The Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that the expansion of the bloc will entail negative consequences for Russia's security.
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