Istanbul, 26 December 2023 (dpa/MIA) - A Turkish parliamentary committee has sent Sweden’s NATO accession protocol to a vote in the general assembly, state news agency Anadolu reported, moving the Nordic country a step closer to joining the Western defence alliance.

Sweden's bid to join NATO still needs to be approved by the full Turkish legislative body. The timing of that vote remains unclear.

Turkey has been delaying the ratification for more than a year due to Stockholm's alleged support to groups Ankara labels as "terrorists."

Turkey is primarily concerned with the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

In October, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asked the parliament to start a voting process to ratify Sweden's NATO accession after Stockholm tightened its anti-terrorism legislation.

Erdoğan recently linked the Turkish vote to the US Congress' pending approval of F-16 fighter jet sales to Ankara.

On Tuesday, parliament's foreign relations committee gave its backing for having the full legislature vote on Sweden's membership.

In order for a country to join NATO unanimous approval of all current members is required. Hungary has also yet to back Sweden's accession.

Photo: MIA archive