Erdogan ties Sweden’s NATO membership to Turkey’s EU accession

Previously non-aligned Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland joined in April following Turkish ratification.

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

Erdogan publicly linked Sweden’s membership in the Western military alliance and his country’s long-stalled application to become part of the EU for the first time before departing Ankara for a NATO summit that starts Tuesday in Lithuania’s capital.

He told U.S. President Joe Biden during a telephone call Sunday that Turkey wanted a “clear and strong” message of support for Turkey’s EU ambitions from the NATO leaders meeting in Vilnius, according to his office. The White House readout of the Biden-Erdogan call did not mention the issue of Turkish membership in the EU.

“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,” Erdogan said Monday. “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.”

“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.

Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson were expected to meet later Monday in Vilnius.

Asked about Erdogan’s comments, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he supports Turkey’s ambition to join the EU but noted that it wasn’t among the conditions listed in an agreement that Sweden, Finland and Turkey signed at last year’s NATO summit in Madrid.

Stoltenberg reiterated that Sweden had met those conditions and said he thinks it is “still possible to have a positive decision” on the country’s pending membership during this week’s summit in Lithuania.