2023-09-27T11:54:00+03:00 Politics 2024-09-15T05:04:11+03:00

Ukrainian news

Turkiye ready to ratify Sweden's bid for NATO membership in exchange for American F-16s

Turkiye ready to ratify Sweden's bid for NATO membership in exchange for American F-16s

Turkiye is ready to ratify Sweden's bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) if the US unblocks Ankara's access to the purchase of F-16 fighter jets.

This follows from a statement by the President of Turkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Reuters reports.

Speaking to reporters, Erdogan said that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed Sweden's NATO membership the day before.

Erdogan added that the US leadership is linking the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye with Ankara's ratification of Sweden's application.

"If they fulfill their promises, our parliament will also fulfill its promise. The Turkish parliament will have the last word on the issue of Sweden's membership in NATO," Erdogan said.

Sweden applied to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on May 18, 2022, amid russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

As of April 2023, all NATO member states except Turkiye and Hungary have ratified Sweden's entry into the alliance.

In January, anti-Turkish protests took place in the capital of Sweden, during which the Koran was burned.

Turkiye condemned the Koran-burning campaign, and Erdogan said Sweden should not expect his country to support its bid to join NATO.

It will be recalled that in February of this year, it became known that the United States does not intend to sell new F-16 aircraft to Turkiye until Ankara ratifies Sweden's application for membership in NATO.

In June 2023, the US blocked the sale of weapons to Hungary due to its position on Sweden's accession to NATO.