Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with US President Joe Biden this Sunday. Sweden’s NATO candidacy and agreed to hold a bilateral meeting at the Alliance summit to be held in Vilnius on the 11th and 12th.
According to the Presidency’s statement, Erdogan said in a phone call with Biden: The Swedish government has taken steps in the right direction however, he regretted that sympathizers of the armed group Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) continued to stage demonstrations in Sweden.
Sweden needs approval from all NATO partners and so far Ankara refuses to approve entry, claiming Sweden is He is too tolerant of PKK sympathizers, who are considered terrorists by both Turkey and the USA and the European Union (EU).
“Sweden has taken some steps in the right direction by amending its anti-terror legislation, but the fact that PKK/PYD/YPG terrorist organization sympathizers continue to freely hold demonstrations that glorify terrorism makes these steps pointless.” in the statement.
Sweden And Finland Last year they submitted their candidacy to join NATOAfter the Russian invasion of Ukraine and for decades, he abandoned a policy of military neutrality.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Monday to get closer before the Alliance summit, which begins the next day.
According to a statement from Turkey, Erdogan and Biden agreed to meet face-to-face in Vilnius and discuss regional issues as well as bilateral relations between Turkey and the United States.
“President Erdogan also expressed it. It is not correct to attribute Turkey’s demand to buy F-16s to Sweden’s candidacy.“Turkey has made a statement regarding its intention to purchase the aforementioned US warplanes.
Finally, Erdoğan expressed his desire to revive Turkey’s EU membership process and emphasized the importance of bloc countries giving a clear message on this issue at the summit.