A referendum was held today in the Turkish parliament on Sweden's membership in NATO. Hungary is the last hurdle – Executive Digest

Turkey's parliament will vote today on Sweden's membership in NATO, private broadcaster CNN Turk reported, after Ankara's Western allies have been waiting for the approval for more than a year.

Several local media outlets, including private broadcaster NTV, also confirmed the vote would take place this week, but without specifying the date.

After Turkey's approval, Hungary would be the last hurdle in the accession process, which Sweden and neighboring Finland decided to launch in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

Sweden's candidacy was approved by the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee in December, but the plenary session's vote was suspended.

Turkey, along with Hungary, is the last member of the Atlantic alliance to block Sweden's full access, proliferating demands and excuses to justify its position.

Sweden submitted its candidacy at the same time as Finland, which was admitted last April.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has maintained objections to the process from the start, with Stockholm allegedly passive in the face of several Kurdish groups Ankara defines as “terrorists”.

In early December, Erdoğan made the US Congress' “simultaneous” approval of the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey to modernize its air force as a condition of Ankara's approval.

The U.S. government has not opposed the sale, but Congress has so far blocked the decision for political reasons, particularly tensions with Greece, a member of the Western military bloc, and which represents a recent rapprochement between Ankara and Athens.

In December, Erdogan maintained telephone contact with US President Joe Biden, who expressed his desire to obtain the necessary approval from Congress if Sweden's membership in NATO was approved.

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