The Turkish Parliament’s foreign affairs committee gave its consent to Sweden’s bid to join NATO on Tuesday, drawing the previously non-aligned Nordic country closer to membership in the Western military alliance.

Sweden’s accession protocol will now need to be approved in the general assembly for the last stage of the legislative process in Turkey. No date has been set.

Turkey, a NATO member, has delayed ratifying Sweden’s application for more than a year, accusing the country of being too lenient toward groups that Ankara regards as threats to its security, including Kurdish militants and members of a network that Ankara blames for a failed coup in 2016.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this month threw up another obstacle by openly linking ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership to the U.S. Congress’ approval of a Turkish request to purchase 40 new F-16 fighter jets and kits to modernize Turkey’s existing fleet.

Erdogan also also called on Canada and other NATO allies to life arms embargoes imposed on Turkey.

The White House has backed the Turkish F-16 request but there is strong opposition in Congress to military sales to Turkey.

The Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee had begun discussing Sweden’s membership in NATO last month. The meeting however, was adjourned after legislators from Erdogan’s ruling party submitted a motion for a postponement on grounds that some issues needed more clarification and that negotiations with Sweden had not “matured” enough.

On Tuesday, a majority of legislators in the committee voted in favor of Sweden’s application to join.

Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional positions of military nonalignment to seek protection under NATO’s security umbrella, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Finland joined the alliance in April, becoming NATO’s 31st member, after Turkey’s parliament ratified the Nordic country’s bid.

NATO requires the unanimous approval of all existing members to expand, and Turkey and Hungary are the only countries that have been holding out. Hungary has stalled Sweden’s bid, alleging that Swedish politicians have told “blatant lies” about the condition of Hungary’s democracy.

The delays have frustrated other NATO allies who were swift to accept Sweden and Finland into the alliance.

(AP)