(Bloomberg) -- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed and sent a bill approving Sweden's NATO membership to Turkey's parliament for a vote, Erdogan's office said.
The bill will be discussed at a parliamentary committee before a general vote in the assembly, where Erdogan's ruling AK party and its allies hold a majority of the seats. It's unclear when a final ratification vote would be held.
Why Turkey Is Still Blocking Sweden's NATO Accession: QuickTake
Erdogan's decision follows more than a year of negotiations with the Nordic nation, which wanted to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Turkey was one of the last hold-outs preventing Sweden's membership along with Hungary, accusing the government in Stockholm of failing to do enough to crack down on Kurdish separatists that Turkey sees as terrorists.
Recent anti-Turkish demonstrations in Sweden, including public burnings of the Koran, have only added fuel to the fire. Erdogan also linked Sweden's membership to Turkey's negotiations with the US to purchase F-16 fighter jets.
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