Turkey’s parliament won’t ratify Sweden’s NATO membership bid before October, Erdogan says

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Wednesday that Sweden’s NATO membership bid would not be ratified by Turkey’s parliament before October.

He said at a news conference at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, that the process would have to wait until after lawmakers return from a summer recess.

“The parliament is not in session for the upcoming two months … but our target is to finalize this matter as swiftly as possible,” he said.

Turkey on Monday withdrew its objections to Sweden joining the alliance, a step toward the unity that Western leaders have been eager to demonstrate in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The decision by Erdogan was a significant move toward Sweden’s membership and came after days of intensive meetings.

Finland has already become the 31st member of the alliance, and Sweden is on deck to become the 32nd. Both Nordic countries were historically nonaligned until the war increased fears of Russian aggression.

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Wilks reported from Istanbul, Turkey.