Turkey to ratify Sweden’s NATO bid if US commits to F-16 sale
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday Turkey’s parliament will approve Sweden’s NATO membership bid if the US sells them F-16 fighter jets.
Erdogan told reporters while returning from a trip to Azerbaijan, “If they [the US] keep their promises, our parliament will keep its own promise as well. Turkish parliament will have the final say on Sweden’s NATO membership.”
In January, the US announced its intention to sell $20 billion worth F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, including 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes.
Erdogan said during a press conference after the G20 summit held on Sep. 10, in the Indian capital New Delhi that he discussed the F-16s jet sale in a private conversation with US President, Joe Biden, on the sideline of the gathering.
Erdogan said that Biden linked between the F-16s deal and the Turkey’s ratification of Sweden’s application to join NATO.
Turkish Minster of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan, and US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, discussed Sweden’s NATO membership bid on Sep. 22, in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly, Erdogan added.
Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022 prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February but were met with huge rejection from Turkey and Hungary.
Turkey later ratified Finland’s bid but rejected Sweden’s under the pretext that they support the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the US.
Turkey blocked Sweden’s membership in NATO for months. It later agreed in a NATO summit in July to forward Sweden’s bid to the Turkish parliament for ratification.
Erdogan called on Sweden to take more action regarding PKK activities in Sweden before Turkey can approve its NATO bid.