Biden thanks Erdogan for his decision on Sweden and supports Ankara's sale of F-16 fighters

US President Joe Biden thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday for his "courage" in abandoning his opposition to Sweden's accession to NATO, reaffirming his support for Ankara's sale of F-16 fighter jets.

During a meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Biden welcomed the success of major diplomatic efforts in convincing Erdogan to drop his objection to Sweden's membership in the alliance.

Addressing Erdogan, Biden said, "I want to thank you for your diplomacy and your courage. I want to thank you for your leadership."

Frustration had been growing in Western capitals over Erdogan's obstruction of Sweden's membership, which requires consensus among all member states. Stockholm had submitted two applications, along with Helsinki, to join the alliance in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in February of last year.

Biden had a one-hour phone conversation with Erdogan on Sunday, seeking to break the impasse and avoid an embarrassing failure at the Vilnius summit.

On Monday night, the eve of the NATO summit, Erdogan unexpectedly abandoned his objection.

Erdogan had been emphasizing for months the need to suppress Sweden, which has Kurdish groups banned in Turkey. Sweden claims to have taken action on this matter.

Speculation arose about the privileges Turkey obtained in exchange for giving the green light.

Prior to this, Erdogan had also stipulated the resumption of Turkey's EU accession negotiations as a condition for dropping his objection to Sweden's NATO membership.

The change in Turkey's position seems to have resolved the dilemma of Turkey acquiring modern F-16 fighter jets, an issue that has been pending for some time.

On Tuesday, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed that President Biden had been "clear and definitive for months" in his support for delivering F-16s to Turkey, considering it in NATO's interest.

Sullivan said that Biden had not placed any caveats or conditions on this matter in his public or private statements over the past few months, and he intends to proceed with the delivery process in consultation with Congress.

A US official told Agence France-Presse that the White House is "actively engaged" with Congress, as there is significant opposition to the fighter jet sale to Ankara.

Sullivan emphasized the "significant importance" of the United States recently getting involved in negotiations with Erdogan, along with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven.

Regarding Erdogan's attempt to link Turkey's aspirations for EU membership with Sweden's NATO accession, Sullivan stated that Biden has supported Turkey's EU membership "for some time."

However, he stressed that this requires "discussions about necessary reforms and the steps required in terms of the solidity of the democratic approach that each EU membership candidate must undergo."

Sullivan added that the United States believes there is "no connection" between these two issues.



AFP