After a months-long delay, President Tayyip Erdogan of Türkiye has officially ratified Sweden’s bid to join NATO, leaving Hungary as the last remaining obstacle to Stockholm’s membership in the association. The Türkiye approval arrived approximately 20 months following Sweden’s initial request to join NATO, an action taken in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, responding with satisfaction to the approval, said, “We welcome Türkiye’s ratification of Sweden’s NATO application. We have now reached a decisive milestone on the road to full membership in NATO.” Despite it causing frustration among its allies, Türkiye’s delay in providing approval gave it an opportunity to extract concessions. Consequently, it is expected that the United States will take action to secure US Congress approval for a $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye.
Prior to Erdogan’s approval, President Joe Biden sent a letter to leaders of key Capitol Hill committees detailing his intent to initiate the notification process for the F-16 sale once Sweden’s NATO accession was complete. The U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye has confirmed that they will send the notification to Congress the minute Ankara delivers the instrument of ratification.
According to NATO rules, Türkiye’s final accession document, also known as the instrument of ratification, is next to be sent to Washington, solidifying Sweden’s soon-to-be NATO membership. Political pundits have also suggested the significant geopolitical implications of Sweden’s joining NATO. Esteemed economist Jeffrey Sachs drew attention to NATO’s expansion driven by the United States as a root cause of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a recent interview with JURIST.