Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Friday, December 8th (17th) that he will support Sweden’s request for NATO membership on the condition that the US Congress approves Ankara’s F-16 fighter jets. Accept the purchase request.
After Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Finland and Sweden abandoned their policy of military non-alignment and applied for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
In this regard, Finland became a member of NATO on April 4, 2023 and thus became the 31st member of this military agreement, but Sweden has not yet joined this agreement due to the opposition of Turkey, which is a member of NATO. is not.
Earlier, Turkey accused Sweden of harboring extremists considered terrorists by Ankara. In July of this year, Erdogan withdrew his criticism of Sweden’s membership after Sweden took measures to crack down on Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants. However, the Foreign Relations Committee of the Turkish Parliament postponed the vote on Sweden’s membership in NATO last month, which faced harsh criticism from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Erdoğan said on Friday that the Turkish Parliament will only act on Sweden’s membership in NATO if the US Congress approves Turkey’s purchase of dozens of F-16 fighter jets and spare parts. Approve the request.
Referring to the US, Erdogan told reporters: “You say that you will take action after Congress approves the sale of F-16 aircraft, but I also have a parliament.”
He added: “If we are two allied countries in NATO, then you can do your part together. Our parliament will also do its part.”
Turkey is opposed to NATO and especially the United States over the purchase of the S-400 defense system from Russia, which is why the United States imposed sanctions on the Turkish Defense Industry Administration and also ordered the purchase of this system in 2019. In response, the sale of American F-35 aircraft to this country was suspended.
The United States says the S-400 air defense system, F-35 fighter jets and NATO’s broader defense systems are a threat and can help Russia gather intelligence and target Western warplanes, it claims. which Turkey has always denied.
But despite the warnings of the US, Turkey signed an agreement with Russia to purchase the S-400 defense system in 2017.
Despite this, President Joe Biden’s administration has repeatedly promised to agree to the sale of F-16 fighter jets worth 20 billion dollars, but its approval was met with resistance from the leaders of the US Congress. , which is concerned about Turkey’s human rights abuses and past conflict with Greece.
On the other hand, Turkey’s anger over Washington’s support for Israel in the Gaza war has made the issue even more complicated.
Erdogan said that he does not expect to see President Joe Biden in the near future.
He added: “Meeting with President Biden is not at the top of our work agenda. His position on Gaza is clear to all of you. If he contacts us, we will meet with him and discuss the necessary issues.” We will talk to him about it”.
In order for a new country to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), it is necessary that all the members of this military agreement agree with it.
Hungary, a member of NATO, has not yet ratified Sweden’s participation in the agreement.
A report from the AFP news agency was used in the preparation of this article.