Türkiye Takes Final Step On Sweden's NATO Membership

National flags of member countries in NATO flying outside organization headquarters in Brussels. (AFP)
National flags of member countries in NATO flying outside organization headquarters in Brussels. (AFP)
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Türkiye Takes Final Step On Sweden's NATO Membership

National flags of member countries in NATO flying outside organization headquarters in Brussels. (AFP)
National flags of member countries in NATO flying outside organization headquarters in Brussels. (AFP)

Türkiye's government newspaper on Thursday published a protocol on Sweden's accession to NATO, a final technical step in Ankara's ratification of the Nordic nation's bid to join the US-led alliance.

The Official Gazette's publication of the law on Sweden's accession to the alliance, which the Turkish parliament approved on Tuesday, ends a nearly two-year saga that tested Ankara's relations with its Western allies.

Erdogan had earlier signed the document, meaning that Türkiye has completed all its required steps, AFP reported.

Türkiye's green light leaves Hungary as the last holdout in an accession process that Sweden and Finland, which had adhered to decades of military non-alignment, began in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.

Finland became the 31st nation of the alliance last April.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Thursday he was ready to meet his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban to help pave the way for Budapest's quick approval of the bid.

NATO membership applications require unanimous ratifications by all alliance members.



Tehran Says New Energy Sanctions Contradict Iran-US Talks

An anti-Israeli billboard reads 'Once again, a Pharaoh will drown' at Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 22 April 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An anti-Israeli billboard reads 'Once again, a Pharaoh will drown' at Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 22 April 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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Tehran Says New Energy Sanctions Contradict Iran-US Talks

An anti-Israeli billboard reads 'Once again, a Pharaoh will drown' at Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 22 April 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An anti-Israeli billboard reads 'Once again, a Pharaoh will drown' at Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 22 April 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

New US sanctions against Iran's energy sector point to Washington's "lack of goodwill and seriousness" over dialogue with Tehran, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday ahead of Iran-US nuclear talks this weekend.

The sanctions targeted Iranian liquefied petroleum gas and crude oil shipping magnate Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh and his corporate network on Tuesday.
Emamjomeh's network is responsible for shipping hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Iranian LPG and crude oil to foreign markets, the US Treasury said in a statement.
Expert-level Iran-US talks that were supposed to take place on Wednesday will be shifted to Saturday, Tehran's foreign ministry spokesperson said, with a third round of high-level nuclear talks due on the same day in Oman.

Iran and the United States agreed on Saturday to begin drawing up a framework for a potential nuclear deal, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said after the talks in Rome.