Turkey’s parliament has voted in favour of Sweden joining Nato, after the Scandinavian country’s long-fought bid to enter the western military alliance.

The vote late on Tuesday paves the way for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to give Turkey’s seal of approval on Nato membership for Sweden, which dropped its centuries-old policy of military non-alignment after the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Lithuania’s president, Gitanas Nausėda, said, Nordic and Baltic leaders in particular welcomed the ratification as strengthening regional security. “Sweden’s Nato membership will be a significant step towards a safer Baltic Sea region and stronger alliance,”.

Erdoğan vowed to approve accession last July, but the process has been beset by delays, which have driven a wedge between Ankara and its western allies. Turkey and Hungary are the only Nato members that have not yet approved Sweden’s request to join the alliance.

Sweden’s military chief and prime minister have both directly warned Swedes this year to be prepared for war, comments that have drawn admiration from some and criticism from others for fear-mongering. Finland, which shares a 1,340km border with Russia, joined Nato last April as the group’s 31st member.

Hungary is broadly expected to follow Turkey’s lead on ratifying Sweden’s accession. Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, said on Tuesday in a post on social media site X that he would invite Kristersson “for a visit to Hungary to negotiate on Sweden’s Nato accession”.

Ankara has also demanded that Stockholm steps up its fight against a Kurdish militant group that has fought a decades-long insurgency in Turkey. A series of measures passed by Sweden including a new anti-terrorism law that went into effect last year have helped assuage Turkey’s concerns, according to Turkish officials and diplomats.