Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan has warned that the Turkish parliament could keep Sweden’s NATO accession on “standby” if the US Congress does not unblock the sale of 40 F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. “If we are allies in NATO, in a spirit of solidarity, do your part and our parliament will take the necessary steps. That’s it,” he told reporters on his return from his official trip to Greece.
Both the US and Canada, which has restricted the sale of drone cameras to Turkey, insist that Ankara must give the go-ahead for Sweden’s entry into the Atlantic Alliance to lift these restrictions. The White House recently indicated that the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey will not take place until Sweden is in NATO, for which Turkey’s parliament must approve membership. However, the issue is still stalled in the Turkish National Assembly’s foreign affairs committee.
“If you have your Congress, I have my parliament. You say, ‘I will take a step on the F-16 after the approval of the Congress’. I have my parliament, and it is not possible for me to take a step (in favour of Sweden’s NATO accession) until the parliament approves it,” Erdoğan insisted to reporters. Recently, Germany also blocked the sale of Eurofighter fighters to Turkey citing concerns over Turkish gas drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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