Türkiye assured NATO allies that it remains committed to ratifying Sweden's membership, the military bloc's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday.
Only Türkiye and Hungary are yet to ratify Sweden's membership after Stockholm dropped its long-standing policy of non-alignment to apply in the face of Russia's war on Ukraine.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed at a NATO summit in Vilnius in July to put the ratification of Sweden's membership before his parliament.
But there has been no movement since Turkish lawmakers reconvened at the start of October.
"The Turkish defence minister confirmed that Turkey stands by the agreement from Vilnius to finalise Swedish accession," Stoltenberg said after a meeting of NATO defense ministers.
"I now expect that the Turkish government will submit the accession protocol to the Grand National Assembly and work with the assembly to ensure speedy ratification."
Diplomats said all other NATO members at the meeting pushed Ankara and Budapest to approve Sweden's bid to join.
They say Türkiye is looking to win concessions from the main NATO power the United States over the sale modernized versions of F-16 fighter jets.
While the White House supports supplying the aircraft to Ankara, the U.S. Congress is blocking the sale.
Finland, which applied to join NATO at the same time as Sweden, was granted membership in April.
Stockholm reassured Türkiye that it would not support terrorist organizations, including the PKK, its Syrian affiliate YPG or the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), in the aftermath of its NATO membership and that a new bilateral security mechanism will be created between Ankara and Stockholm. NATO will also establish a Special Coordinator on Counterterrorism for the first time in the bloc's history.
