Ankara postpones Sweden's entry into NATO

Türkiye has informed NATO that the approval of Sweden's accession bid will not be finalized by next week, when the military bloc's foreign ministers will attend a meeting, sources said.

Last week, Parliament's foreign affairs commission delayed a vote on Sweden's NATO membership bid in order to hold further talks on the subject.

The commission will likely resume its debate on the matter on Tuesday or Wednesday, one of the sources said. NATO foreign ministers will meet in Brussels on November 28-29, a gathering that some in the Western defense bloc had hoped would mark Sweden's accession.

The bill must be approved by Parliament's foreign affairs commission before a vote by the full general assembly. Erdoğan would then sign it into law.

The protocol on Sweden's accession to NATO has so far been ratified by 31 countries of the alliance, only Hungary and Turkey have not approved it.