By John Ikani
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that his country might approve Sweden’s membership in NATO if European Union nations “open the way” to Turkey’s bid to join the EU.
Erdogan made the comments before departing Ankara for a NATO summit that starts Tuesday in Lithuania’s capital. He told US President Joe Biden during a telephone call Sunday that Turkey wanted a “clear and strong” message of support for Turkey’s EU ambitions from the NATO leaders meeting in Vilnius.
“Turkey has been waiting at the door of the European Union for over 50 years now, and almost all of the NATO member countries are now members of the European Union,” Erdogan said. “I am making this call to these countries that have kept Turkey waiting at the gates of the European Union for more than 50 years.”
“Come and open the way for Turkey’s membership in the European Union. When you pave the way for Turkey, we’ll pave the way for Sweden as we did for Finland,” he added.
In response to Erdogan’s comments, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expressed support for Turkey’s EU ambition but clarified that it wasn’t among the conditions agreed upon by Sweden, Finland, and Turkey at last year’s NATO summit in Madrid.
Stoltenberg acknowledged that Sweden had met those conditions and remained optimistic about a positive decision on Sweden’s membership during the current summit.
While Turkey is a candidate for EU membership, issues such as democratic backsliding during Erdogan’s presidency and disputes with EU-member Cyprus have hindered its progress.
As a NATO member, Turkey has postponed ratifying Sweden’s NATO accession, citing the need for Sweden to address concerns related to Kurdish militants and other groups seen as threats to Turkey’s national security.
Earlier on Monday, anti-Turkey and anti-Islam protests in Stockholm raised doubts about reaching an agreement to meet Turkey’s demands before the alliance’s summit.
Nonetheless, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström expressed optimism, stating that Turkey would eventually signal its readiness for Sweden to join the 31-nation military alliance.
He anticipated receiving a green light from President Erdogan, indicating that the ratification process in the Turkish Parliament can commence.
Erdogan reiterated Turkey’s expectations that Sweden fulfills its commitment to crack down on groups Ankara considers to be terrorists.
Billström affirmed that Sweden has fulfilled its part of the deal with Finland and Turkey, emphasizing that Sweden’s accession to NATO is not a question of if but when.
He also anticipated that Hungary, which has yet to ratify Sweden’s accession, would do so before Turkey.
Sweden and Finland, previously non-aligned, applied for NATO membership following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finland joined NATO in April after Turkish ratification.
