U.S. 'Applauds' Turkish Approval Of Sweden's NATO Bid

The United States said on Tuesday it 'applauds' the Turkish parliament’s decision to approve the accession protocols for Sweden’s membership into NATO, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"Sweden’s membership in the Alliance will make it stronger and more united than ever," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday evening, hours after Turkish parliament in Ankara voted 287-55 to approve Sweden's accession, which follows some 20 months of diplomatic bargaining with Stockholm and Washington.

The White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement that this "has been an important priority" for President Biden. "Sweden is a strong, capable defense partner whose membership in NATO will make the U.S. and the alliance safer and stronger," he noted.

Now President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan just needs to sign the ratification into law, leaving Hungary as the final NATO country yet to proceed with Sweden's bid to join the 31-member military alliance. 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced Tuesday he sent a letter to Sweden's PM Ulf Kristersson for a meeting to discuss ratification.