After blocking Sweden’s bid to join NATO for nearly two years, the Turkish parliament ratified Stockholm’s accession on Jan. 23, reaffirming Ankara’s commitment to the Western alliance. A parliamentary majority that included the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), its ally the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) ultimately rallied in support of Sweden’s NATO accession. Hungary, the last remaining NATO member left to ratify Sweden’s accession, is expected to follow suit in the coming weeks.

After blocking Sweden’s bid to join NATO for nearly two years, the Turkish parliament ratified Stockholm’s accession on Jan. 23, reaffirming Ankara’s commitment to the Western alliance. A parliamentary majority that included the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), its ally the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) ultimately rallied in support of Sweden’s NATO accession. Hungary, the last remaining NATO member left to ratify Sweden’s accession, is expected to follow suit in the coming weeks.

Turkey’s support for Sweden’s accession long looked unlikely. By standing in the way, Turkey had a broader goal: to exploit the opportunity to undermine Western support for Kurdish aspirations in the Middle East. Sweden has been a sanctuary for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey labels a terrorist organization; it has offered political and financial support to PKK-linked Kurdish groups in northern Syria, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and its military wing, the People’s Protection Units (YPG). To get Turkey’s backing to join NATO, Sweden agreed to cut these ties.

Still, a year ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lambasted Sweden, saying that the country should not expect goodwill from Turkey if it fails to “show respect for the religious beliefs of Muslims and Turkish people.” Last September, Erdogan said Sweden had failed to keep its promises to Turkey to receive the green light, citing demonstrations in Stockholm in support of the PKK. Erdogan’s political ally Devlet Bahceli, who leads the far-right MHP, last year described Sweden as a “country that threatens our national existence,” adding that if Sweden remained unwilling to extradite........

© Foreign Policy