President Joe Biden spoke to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a call Sunday as the US pushes for a deal with Ankara that would allow Sweden’s entry into NATO.
(Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden spoke to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a call Sunday as the US pushes for a deal with Ankara that would allow Sweden’s entry into NATO.
Biden spoke to Erdogan from Air Force One en route to the UK, which the US president is visiting before this week’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit.
The two “discussed the range of issues that NATO leaders will consider at the summit, expressed their shared commitment to continue supporting Ukraine, and reviewed efforts to strengthen our bilateral ties. President Biden also conveyed his desire to welcome Sweden into NATO as soon as possible,” the White House said in a statement.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One that the call lasted about 45 minutes to an hour and that the leaders agreed to sit down together during the two-day summit, which starts Tuesday in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The last time the two leaders spoke was in May, when Biden called Erdogan to congratulate him after the Turkish election.
In addition to Sweden’s NATO membership bid, Erdogan discussed a proposed purchase of F-16 fighter jets with Biden, according to a statement by Turkey’s Directorate of Communications.
Sweden is seeking to convince Erdogan to allow the country to join NATO, but Turkey and Hungary have held off on ratifying its application. Turkey has cited concerns Sweden isn’t doing enough to clamp down on Kurdish separatist groups that Ankara views as terrorist organizations.
Turkey wants Sweden to extradite or expel alleged supporters of Kurdish militant group PKK, which is labeled a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union, as well as of affiliated Kurdish YPG forces in Syria and followers of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. Erdogan alleges Gulen masterminded a 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.
Hungary has said it will follow Turkey’s decision.
Sweden has argued that amendments to its anti-terrorism laws satisfy its last remaining obligation under the agreement signed last year.
F-16s
Turkey’s bid to purchase US-made F-16 fighter jets could provide leverage for Sweden’s entry but a Turkish official on Wednesday rebuffed linking those two issues.
The transaction requires congressional approval, and a bipartisan group of senators told Biden earlier this year Congress shouldn’t consider selling the fighter jets to Turkey until the country ratifies Sweden’s membership.
Sullivan said Sunday that Biden on the call “reiterated his long-standing and quite public commitment and support for the provision of F-16s to Turkey.”
Sullivan declined to say if the two sides were close to an agreement. “We believe that Sweden should be admitted to NATO as soon as possible. We believe that there should be a pathway to do so. And we will now see how that will unfold as we head into Vilnius,” he said.
Biden acknowledged that “Turkey is looking for modernization of F-16 aircraft” and suggested it could be part of a US move to also strengthen neighboring Greece militarily. “It’s in play,” he said in a July 7 interview for CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS. “It’s not done.”
NATO allies were hoping for a breakthrough ahead of the summit. Biden reiterated his support for Sweden’s entry when he met with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Wednesday at the White House.
“The United States fully, fully, fully supports Sweden’s membership in NATO,” Biden said. “Sweden is going to make our alliance stronger and has the same value set that we have in NATO. And we’re anxiously looking forward to your membership.”
Allied support for Ukraine as Russia’s war in the country nears its 18-month mark is also high on the meeting’s agenda. NATO countries are expected to offer Kyiv a promise of long-term support with the aim of deepening ties without immediately making it a member.
The US announced an $800 million package Friday that includes cluster munitions that some NATO allies have banned over humanitarian concerns.
–With assistance from Gregory Korte.
(Updates to add Sullivan comments in paragraphs 4 and 13-14.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.