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"contents": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The parliament plenary in Ankara voted 287 to 55 to accept Sweden’s application on Tuesday, sending the document back to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for a final sign-off before it can be deposited with the US State Department in Washington. Erdoğan has already backed Sweden’s membership and is widely expected to sign.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The move puts Sweden on the cusp of realising its goal of becoming the 32nd member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a year and eight months after putting in an application that marked a turnaround in its defence policy. Moving in lockstep with neighbouring Finland, Stockholm concluded in May 2022 that entering the alliance would be the best way to </span><a href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-11/finland-to-keep-russian-border-shut-to-protect-national-security\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">deter any </span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">aggression from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. Finland </span><a href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-04/finland-to-join-nato-as-alliance-expands-northwards\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">joined Nato</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in April 2023.</span>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2024400\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/11969608.jpg\" alt=\"turkey sweden nato\" width=\"720\" height=\"360\" /> <em>Perihan Koca (left), and Kezban Konukcu (right), legislators of the opposition Green Left Party (YSP) hold placards reading ‘No to Nato, Occupation, War’ during the voting on a bill on Sweden’s accession to the defence alliance, at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara on 23 January 2024. Sweden’s accession to Nato was accepted after the vote. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Necatu Savas)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sweden’s entry would bolster Nato, reinforcing its northern reach and improving its ability to defend the eastern flank. Sweden and Finland had previously shunned membership of military alliances until Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military actions changed that calculus. </span>\r\n\r\n<b>Read More:</b> <a href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-07/what-it-takes-to-join-nato-a-club-refreshed-by-putin\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What It Takes to Join Nato, a club refreshed by Putin</span></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-25/why-turkey-is-still-blocking-sweden-s-nato-accession\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Turkey had dragged its feet</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on agreeing to Sweden’s proposal, which has to be signed off by all members. Ankara spent months insisting the Nordic country do more to crack down on supporters of separatist groups </span><a href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-07/erdogan-threatens-reprisals-against-us-backed-kurdish-militants\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">outlawed in Turkey</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is designated a terrorist organisation by the European Union and the US.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sweden’s response was that it complied with Nato’s membership criteria, but separately tightened laws against terrorism and lifted arms export restrictions to Turkey.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Hungary moves</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In another sign of potential progress for Sweden’s membership, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a post on X that he had invited Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson to Budapest for negotiations on the Nato bid.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Orban and his ministers have partly blamed Swedish criticism of Hungary’s democratic backsliding as one reason for not moving ahead with ratification in parliament. Hungary’s government has also said a courtesy call by Sweden’s leader to mend frayed ties could help to unblock the process.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Swedish foreign minister Tobias Billstrom told reporters there was “no reason to negotiate” with the Hungarian government, though “the central thing for us is to continue to have a good and constructive dialogue with Budapest.” In a letter dated 23 January and seen by Bloomberg, Orban invited Kristersson to Hungary “to exchange views on all issues of common interest.” It is not clear if he will accept.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Complex web</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alongside Turkey’s issue with separatist groups in Sweden, the country’s deliberations were tangled in a more complex geopolitical web involving fighter planes.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Turkey has since 2021 sought to buy 40 Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 aircraft from the US company and 79 kits to modernise its fleet. The country is overdue to retire its F-4 jets and wants to upgrade to F-16s as a stopgap measure until it can develop its own warplanes. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">US President Joe Biden has made Turkey’s approval of Sweden’s Nato membership a </span><a href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-05/turkey-snubs-us-pressure-on-f-16s-as-biden-meets-swedish-premier\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">prerequisite for the sale</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of those jets, and Erdogan has also linked the two issues. Turkey is now likely to expect the US to move forward with the aircraft sale. </span><b>DM</b>",
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"name": "Perihan Koca (left), and Kezban Konukcu (right), legislators of the opposition Green Left Party (YSP) hold placards reading ‘No to Nato, Occupation, War’ during the voting on a bill on Sweden’s accession to the defence alliance, at the Grand National Assembly of Turkeyin Ankara on 23 January 2024. Sweden’s accession to Nato was accepted after the vote. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Necatu Savas)",
"description": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The parliament plenary in Ankara voted 287 to 55 to accept Sweden’s application on Tuesday, sending the document back to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for a final sign-off before it can be deposited with the US State Department in Washington. Erdoğan has already backed Sweden’s membership and is widely expected to sign.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The move puts Sweden on the cusp of realising its goal of becoming the 32nd member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a year and eight months after putting in an application that marked a turnaround in its defence policy. Moving in lockstep with neighbouring Finland, Stockholm concluded in May 2022 that entering the alliance would be the best way to </span><a href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-11/finland-to-keep-russian-border-shut-to-protect-national-security\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">deter any </span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">aggression from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. Finland </span><a href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-04/finland-to-join-nato-as-alliance-expands-northwards\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">joined Nato</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in April 2023.</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2024400\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-2024400\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/11969608.jpg\" alt=\"turkey sweden nato\" width=\"720\" height=\"360\" /> <em>Perihan Koca (left), and Kezban Konukcu (right), legislators of the opposition Green Left Party (YSP) hold placards reading ‘No to Nato, Occupation, War’ during the voting on a bill on Sweden’s accession to the defence alliance, at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara on 23 January 2024. Sweden’s accession to Nato was accepted after the vote. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Necatu Savas)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sweden’s entry would bolster Nato, reinforcing its northern reach and improving its ability to defend the eastern flank. Sweden and Finland had previously shunned membership of military alliances until Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military actions changed that calculus. </span>\r\n\r\n<b>Read More:</b> <a href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-07/what-it-takes-to-join-nato-a-club-refreshed-by-putin\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What It Takes to Join Nato, a club refreshed by Putin</span></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-25/why-turkey-is-still-blocking-sweden-s-nato-accession\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Turkey had dragged its feet</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on agreeing to Sweden’s proposal, which has to be signed off by all members. Ankara spent months insisting the Nordic country do more to crack down on supporters of separatist groups </span><a href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-07/erdogan-threatens-reprisals-against-us-backed-kurdish-militants\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">outlawed in Turkey</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is designated a terrorist organisation by the European Union and the US.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sweden’s response was that it complied with Nato’s membership criteria, but separately tightened laws against terrorism and lifted arms export restrictions to Turkey.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Hungary moves</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In another sign of potential progress for Sweden’s membership, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a post on X that he had invited Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson to Budapest for negotiations on the Nato bid.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Orban and his ministers have partly blamed Swedish criticism of Hungary’s democratic backsliding as one reason for not moving ahead with ratification in parliament. Hungary’s government has also said a courtesy call by Sweden’s leader to mend frayed ties could help to unblock the process.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Swedish foreign minister Tobias Billstrom told reporters there was “no reason to negotiate” with the Hungarian government, though “the central thing for us is to continue to have a good and constructive dialogue with Budapest.” In a letter dated 23 January and seen by Bloomberg, Orban invited Kristersson to Hungary “to exchange views on all issues of common interest.” It is not clear if he will accept.</span>\r\n<h4><b>Complex web</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alongside Turkey’s issue with separatist groups in Sweden, the country’s deliberations were tangled in a more complex geopolitical web involving fighter planes.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Turkey has since 2021 sought to buy 40 Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 aircraft from the US company and 79 kits to modernise its fleet. The country is overdue to retire its F-4 jets and wants to upgrade to F-16s as a stopgap measure until it can develop its own warplanes. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">US President Joe Biden has made Turkey’s approval of Sweden’s Nato membership a </span><a href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-05/turkey-snubs-us-pressure-on-f-16s-as-biden-meets-swedish-premier\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">prerequisite for the sale</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of those jets, and Erdogan has also linked the two issues. Turkey is now likely to expect the US to move forward with the aircraft sale. </span><b>DM</b>",
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Perihan Koca (left), and Kezban Konukcu (right), legislators of the opposition Green Left Party (YSP) hold placards reading ‘No to Nato, Occupation, War’ during the voting on a bill on Sweden’s accession to the defence alliance, at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara on 23 January 2024. Sweden’s accession to Nato was accepted after the vote. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Necatu Savas)