Turkish parliamentary committee to debate Sweden’s NATO membership bid

The Turkish Parliament’s foreign affairs committee was scheduled on Thursday to start debating Sweden’s bid to join NATO, drawing the previously non-aligned country closer to membership in the Western military alliance.
Once green-lighted by the committee, Sweden’s accession protocol will need to be ratified by Parliament’s general assembly for the last stage of the legislative process in Turkey.
Turkey has stalled ratifying Sweden’s membership in NATO, 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.
Turkey has also been angered by a series of demonstrations by supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in Sweden as well as Quran-burning protests that roiled Muslim countries.