Turkey's Parliament finally voted on Tuesday evening to back Sweden’s bid for NATO membership, according to private news outlet CNN Turk.
Of the 346 members of parliament who voted, 287 were in favor of Sweden’s accession while 55 voted to reject it. Four others abstained from voting.
The next step is for President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan to sign the attendant protocol into law.
Following Turkey’s endorsement, Hungary is now the only hurdle remaining in Sweden’s accession bid, a process that both Sweden and its neighbour, Finland, initiated in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.
Sweden’s candidacy was approved by the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee in late December. However, the final vote by the full house was postponed.
President Erdogan had repeatedly expressed concern about Stockholm’s purported leniency towards certain Kurdish groups, which he views as terrorist organisations.
Erdogan added another condition for ratification in early December: the “simultaneous” approval by the US Congress of the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, to help modernise its air force.
Sweden had filed for its membership at the same time as Finland, which gained admission last April.
