Erdogan says Turkey could approve Sweden's NATO membership if Europeans 'open way' to Turkey E.U. bid

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country could approve Sweden’s membership in NATO if European nations “open the way” to Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country could approve Sweden’s membership in NATO if European nations “open the way” to Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.

Mr. Erdogan, whose country has been holding off its final approval to Sweden’s NATO membership, made the comments in Ankara on July 10 before departing to the alliance’s summit meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania.

“Turkey has been waiting at the door of the European Union for over 50 years now, and almost all of the NATO member countries are now members of the European Union. I am making this call to these countries that have kept Turkey waiting at the gates of the European Union for more than 50 years,” Mr. Erdogan said.

“Come and open the way for Turkey’s membership in the European Union. When you pave the way for Turkey, we’ll pave the way for Sweden as we did for Finland,” he added.

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Turkey is a candidate to join the E.U., but its membership bid has been stalled due to Ankara’s democratic backsliding and disputes with E.U.-member Cyprus.

Earlier on July 10, Sweden's Foreign Minister had expressed optimism that Turkey would drop its objections to Swedish NATO membership, saying the Nordic country's accession is a question of when, not if.