Turkish president, NATO chief discuss Ankara's approval of Sweden's membership in alliance

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday discussed Türkiye's approval of Sweden's NATO membership.

The discussion came in a phone call between Erdogan and Stoltenberg on global and regional issues, Türkiye’s Communications Directorate said on X.

The law, passed on Thursday by Turkish parliament, approving Sweden's NATO membership was published in Türkiye’s Official Gazette, finalizing the ratification, the Communications Directorate had said earlier.

President Erdogan signed the presidential decree on the Nordic country's accession into the military alliance and approved the relevant protocol. The law has now come into effect.

The Turkish parliament on Tuesday ratified Sweden's membership in a 287 to 55 vote.

Admission of a new member requires the unanimous support of all NATO members, and Hungary is now the only ally not to have ratified Sweden's accession.

Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022 following the start of Russia's war on Ukraine earlier that year.

Finland joined the alliance as its 31st member in April 2023.