Turkey Gives Green Light to Sweden's NATO Membership; Erdogan: Actions by the U.S. and Canada Have Been Effective

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, said on Tuesday, December 19, that positive developments regarding the sale of U.S. F-16 fighter jets to Ankara and the lifting of Canadian arms sanctions will help the Turkish parliament move towards approving Sweden's NATO membership proposal. Erdogan told reporters about this military agreement: "The positive developments we expect regarding (the procurement of F-16s from the United States) and Canada's promises (regarding the lifting of arms sanctions) will help our parliament have a positive approach towards Sweden... They are all interconnected." The Turkish President added that he discussed Sweden's NATO accession in a call with U.S. President Joe Biden last week. Erdogan stated that in this call, Biden told him that if the Turkish parliament votes positively on Sweden's NATO accession, he would also work to gain Congress's approval for the sale of F-16 fighter jets. Turkey requested a $20 billion military deal with the U.S. in 2021, including the purchase of 40 F-16 fighter jets and 79 modernization kits for warplanes. However, despite the Biden administration's approval, the U.S. Congress has expressed opposition regarding Turkey's human rights record and the delays caused by Turkey in Sweden's NATO accession process. Canada, after Turkey's green light to Sweden's membership in June, quietly agreed to resume negotiations with Turkey regarding the lifting of export controls on drone components, including optical equipment. Following Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and its neighbor Finland decided to abandon their long-standing policy of non-alignment and applied for NATO membership last year. However, Turkey, as a NATO member, has delayed its positive vote and accuses Sweden of not taking Turkey's security concerns seriously, including the fight against Kurdish groups and others that Ankara considers a "security threat." Turkey has approved Finland's membership proposal for about a year but has kept Sweden waiting along with its other ally, Hungary.