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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaking at a press conference in Istanbul on July 10, 2023. Photo: handout/Turkish Presidency
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday urged NATO members to facilitate Ankara’s passage into becoming a permanent EU member in exchange for Sweden’s admission into the alliance.
“First open the path in front of Turkey’s EU membership, and we will open the path for Sweden like we did for Finland to join NATO,” Erdogan said during a press conference in Istanbul before flying to Lithuania to attend the NATO summit.
It is the latest in a series of Turkish blocks placed before Sweden as the latter attempts to gain consensus to join NATO.
"Almost all the NATO members are EU members. I am now addressing these countries, which have made Turkey wait for more than 50 years, and I will address them again in Vilnius," Erdogan said while adding that the final decision for Sweden’s NATO bid lies before the Turkish parliament.
Sweden and Finland last year reversed their decades-long tradition of military non-alignment and applied to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Unanimous approval is required by alliance members and Turkey has used this as leverage to pressure the Nordic countries to counter Kurdish groups it considers “terrorists” in exchange for Ankara’s yes on the accession.
In April, Turkey ratified Finland’s bid but blocked Sweden’s, claiming that Stockholm has failed to address Ankara’s “terror” concerns.
Erdogan is expected to meet with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Monday, in what is a last-ditch Swedish effort to becoming a member of the alliance ahead of the summit in Vilnius.
During a phone call with US President Joe Biden on Sunday, Erdogan said that Sweden has taken some steps in the right direction by making amendments to their anti-terror laws. Allowing demonstrations by supporters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), however, nullified the Nordic country’s efforts.
The PKK is a Kurdish group that has waged an armed insurgency against Turkey for decades and is designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara, who has accused Sweden of harboring its members and on numerous occasions has requested extradition of its supporters.
Erdogan added that he also told Biden of his country’s wish to revive the EU membership process and that at the Vilnius summit, leading EU countries will give a “true and strong” message of support for Turkey’s membership.
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