Erdogan conditions Sweden’s entry into NATO on Turkey’s entry into the EU

One day before the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoganhas compared this Monday the entry of Sweden into the Alliance -which the Turkish leader has been blocking for months- with Ankara’s accession to the European Union (EU), stopped since 1999, when the country was officially recognized as a candidate.

Erdogan, who has just revalidated his mandate at the polls, has suggested during a press conference prior to the meeting of the allies, that the EU should open the way for the incorporation of Turkey into the community bloc before the Turkish parliament gives the approval to the union of the Nordic country to the military association.

According to the Reuters agency, Erdogan has indicated that the unblocking of Sweden’s incorporation depends on the implementation of the agreement reached between the two countries last summer during the summit held in Madrid and that includes the repatriation of Kurdish militants. However, the Turkish president added that “no one should expect commitments from Ankara.”

Erdogan is expected to meet with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Monday to discuss the issue before the two-day meeting of NATO leaders begins on Tuesday. Previously, on Sunday, the Turkish leader had a phone call with his US counterpart, Joe Biden, in which they discussed the expansion of the Alliance and also the possible delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara by Washington. .