LONDON: U.S. President Joe Biden is in London for an overnight stop Sunday enroute to Lithuania for the NATO summit in Vilnius, where it remains unlikely that the alliance will welcome Sweden as its 32nd member due to persistent objections from Turkey.
During the flight to Britain, Biden spoke on the phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a last-minute push to pave the way toward Ankara agreeing to Sweden’s accession — a process that must be unanimous among all current members.
“I can’t characterize how close, how far, all I can say is that we believe that Sweden should be admitted to NATO as soon as possible,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told VOA aboard Air Force One enroute to London. “We believe that there should be a pathway to do so.”
In a readout of the call, Ankara stated that Sweden has taken some steps in the right direction but has not made sufficient progress to support Stockholm’s application to join NATO.
Ankara has accused Sweden of being too lenient toward militant Kurdish organizations that Turkey considers terrorist groups. Following Turkish demands, Sweden has enacted reforms, including a new anti-terrorism law. Erdogan initially accused Finland of doing the same but approved Helsinki’s application to join NATO in April.
Sullivan added that Biden and Erdogan discussed the sale of F-16s, a subject that remains a sticking point for Ankara despite its public denials. In its statement, Ankara noted Erdogan said “it would be incorrect to associate Sweden’s NATO accession with the sale of F-16 jets” while thanking Biden for his support to Ankara on its desire to purchase the fighter planes.
Lawmakers from both parties in the U.S. Congress, which has authority to approve major weapon sales, insist that Ankara must first drop its objections to Sweden’s accession before the deal can proceed.
Hungary also opposes Sweden’s bid but has said it will approve it if Turkey assents.
(VOA)
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