The president of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, submitted the petition to parliament Sweden’s accession to NATO on Monday, after 17 months of blockade, the executive indicated.
“The protocol of Sweden’s accession to NATO was signed on October 23, 2023 by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and sent to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey,” the presidency wrote on the social network X (formerly known as Twitter).
Erdogan lifted his veto in July to Sweden’s accession to the Atlantic Alliance, specifying however that ratification would depend on the Turkish parliament, which resumed its work on October 1 after the summer recess.
The Turkish president, who spoke by telephone on Saturday with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, has continued putting pressure on Sweden to take action against desecrations of the Koran, an issue that has strained relations between both countries.
In addition, Ankara criticizes the Swedish authorities for their alleged leniency towards the Kurdish militants sheltered in its territory, demanding the extradition of dozens of them. Together with Hungary, Türkiye is the last of the 31 NATO member states which has not ratified Sweden’s accession. Ankara validated Finland’s entry on March 30, separating its case from that of Stockholm.