OSLO, Norway (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday it was “time” for Turkey to drop its objections to Sweden joining NATO, but said the Biden administration also believes Turkey should be provided with upgraded F-16 fighters “at As soon as possible.”
Blinken emphasized that the administration did not link the two cases, but acknowledged that some US lawmakers did. President Joe Biden implicitly linked the two issues in a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday.
I spoke to Erdogan and he still wants to work on something on the F-16s. I told him we wanted a deal with Sweden. So let’s get it done,” Biden said.
However, Blinken insisted that the two issues were separate. However, he stressed that completing both would significantly enhance European security.
“Both are vital, in our estimation, to European security,” Blinken told reporters at a joint news conference in the northern Swedish city of Luleå with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Christson. “We believe that both should move forward as quickly as possible; that means Sweden joining in and moving forward with the F-16 deal on a larger scale.”
“We think now is the time,” Blinken said. He declined to speculate when Turkey and Hungary, the only NATO member not yet to ratify Sweden’s membership, would give their consent.
But he said, “We have no doubt that it can be, should be, and we expect it to be complete” by the time alliance leaders meet in Vilnius, Lithuania in July for an annual summit.
fresh from a Strong victory for re-election Over the weekend, Erdogan may be willing to soften his objections to Sweden’s membership. Erdogan accuses Sweden of being too lenient with groups that Ankara considers terrorists, and a series of Quran-burning protests in Stockholm. angered his religious support base His tough stance made him more popular.
Christerson said the two sides have been in touch since Sunday’s vote and have not hesitated to talk about the benefits Sweden will bring to NATO “when we join the alliance”.
Blinken is in Sweden for a meeting of the US-EU Trade and Technology Council and will travel to Oslo, Norway, on Wednesday for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, before heading to new member Finland on Friday.
Speaking in Oslo before a meeting of foreign ministers, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the aim is for Sweden to be inside the gathering ahead of the leaders’ summit in July.
“There are no guarantees, but it is entirely possible that a solution will be found and a decision on full membership for Sweden will be made possible through the Vilnius summit,” Stoltenberg said.
