Foreign Min-Turkey 'In Coordination' w/Hungary On Sweden Bid

Wires carrying comments from Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, stating that "We are in coordination with Hungary on Sweden's NATO membership bid." Ratification of Sweden's accession by the Turkish and Hungarian legislatures are the only hurdles remaining to the Nordic nation joining the defensive alliance. Fidan: "Sweden took some steps as part of the [2022[ memorandum with Turkey but we expect further steps.[...] Parliament has final say on Sweden's NATO membership ratification."

• While the Turkish Grand National Assembly is in recess until 1 Oct, its foreign affairs committee has been kept on standby in case the gov't wants progress on the ratification.
• Just before the 11-12 July NATO summit in Lithuania, NATO Sec-Gen Jens Stoltenberg announced that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had agreed to submit Sweden's bid for parliamentary ratification “as soon as possible.”
• The eventual ratification of Sweden's bid has notable geopolitical implications. It bolsters the alliance's security profile in the Nordics, essentially making the Baltic Sea a 'NATO lake', significantly hampering Russian naval activities in the region. It could also improve relations between Ankara and Washington, D.C., as Turkey continues to seek Congressional approval for F-16 exports following a deal reachedat the NATO summit.