As of: January 25, 2024, 8:35 p.m
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agrees to Sweden joining NATO.
© Marton Monus/dpa
Erdogan had the last word: the Turkish president finally approved Sweden's accession to NATO.
Now all eyes are on Hungary, which also has to agree.
Istanbul - Turkey's approval of Sweden's NATO accession is now official.
The so-called accession protocols were published in the Turkish Official Gazette.
Only then was the NATO partner's decision final.
In the next step, according to the admission rules, Turkey must inform the US State Department of its acceptance.
However, Sweden still lacks Hungary's consent to become a NATO member.
After more than a year and a half of political tug-of-war, the Turkish parliament approved Sweden's inclusion in the alliance on Tuesday.
In Ankara, 287 MPs voted in favor, 55 against, and 4 MPs abstained.
It's Budapest's turn
After Turkey's approval, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban promised to press ahead with his country's long-delayed ratification.
He will urge Parliament to vote on it as soon as possible.
However, it remained unclear when a vote on this could take place.
In view of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022.
Finland was welcomed into the alliance as the 31st member at the beginning of April last year.
It remains questionable what motivated Erdogan to agree.
He recently demanded fighter jet deliveries from the USA in return for ratification.
So far, however, the approval of the US Congress is still missing.
dpa