NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and the U.S. State Department welcomed a vote by the Turkish Parliament's Commitee on Foreign Affairs committee on Sweden's bid to become a member of the military alliance.
"I welcome the vote by the Turkish Parliament's foreign affairs committee to ratify Sweden's NATO membership," Stoltenberg said, calling on Türkiye and Hungary to complete their ratifications "as soon as possible."
The U.S. State Department also welcomed the approval of Sweden's NATO bid, saying that it looks "forward to swift passage by full Parliament."
"We welcome the Turkish Parliament's progress in advancing Sweden's accession protocols and look forward to swift passage by the full Parliament," a State Department spokesperson told Anadolu Agency (AA) in an email.
"As a highly capable defense partner, Sweden's prompt accession into NATO will strengthen the alliance," the spokesperson added.
Asked when the State Department plans to move forward with the sale of F-16 jets to Türkiye, the spokesperson said the U.S. would not confirm or comment on arms transfers until it has been formally notified to Congress
"President Biden has long been clear that he supports modernizing Turkiye's F-16 fleet, which will improve its NATO interoperability," the spokesperson added.
The parliamentary commission approved Sweden's NATO membership bid, after weeks of delay.
The commission had started to debate Sweden's NATO membership bid on Nov. 16 but postponed further discussion.
Sweden and Finland requested to join NATO in May of last year in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Sweden believes it has done everything to address Türkiye's concerns, but its case for membership in NATO rests now in lawmakers' hands.
The bill must be approved by the Parliament's foreign affairs commission before a vote by the full general assembly. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would then sign it into law.
