Turkey could soon give its approval for Sweden's accession to NATO. Otherwise, the country does not get modern fighter jets from the United States.
Ankara/Stockholm - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has so far blocked Sweden's accession to NATO. Media in the Scandinavian country are now speculating whether Erdogan will abandon his blockade stance after winning the presidential run-off.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström will meet his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Thursday on the sidelines of NATO's foreign ministers' meeting in Oslo. On Sunday evening, Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson congratulated Erdogan.
Sweden's turnaround after the Turkish election? "Erdogan will not be able to withstand NATO pressure"
However, it remains to be seen whether Erdogan will actually agree to Sweden's accession to NATO. Turkey had set a number of conditions in order for it to give its consent to enlargement. One of them is the extradition of the journalist and scientist Bülent Kenes: Erdogan demanded it at a meeting with the Swedish Prime Minister in November. Kenes, who lives in exile in Sweden, believes that Sweden could soon become a NATO member.
"Erdogan won't be able to withstand Nato pressure for long. Because the alliance wants Sweden to become a member. So the problem is not only between Sweden and Turkey, but between NATO and Turkey. The Erdogan regime has neither the strength nor the ability to defend itself against NATO's major powers," he said.
Joint press conference by President Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. © IMAGO
NATO dispute: Sweden changed laws under pressure from Turkey
In addition, Sweden has already fulfilled most of Erdogan's conditions. "Sweden has already done almost everything Ankara has asked. To this end, Sweden has even passed new laws. For example, it recently passed a new terrorism bill in parliament," Kenes said.
"Although we do not yet know how this law will be interpreted by the judicial authorities, there are early indications that it could lead to the rapid criminalization of civil society organizations by associating them with terrorist organizations." With the new laws, non-governmental organizations could be banned. There is also a risk that persons engaged in cultural, social and humanitarian activities could be associated with terrorism.
But the United States in particular has leverage against Turkey. This involves the purchase of modern F-16 fighter jets and the modernization of existing jets of the same type. "We have been assured that Sweden will be recognized as a NATO ally after the elections, regardless of the election winner," said the Republican co-chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives, Michael McCaul (Republican), the US broadcaster ABC.
Turkey under pressure: F-16 only against approval for Sweden's accession to NATO
His colleague Gregory Meeks (Democrats) makes it unmistakably clear that the military deal will only be concluded if Turkey gives its consent for Sweden to join NATO. Turkey must take action after the elections if it wants the F-16 deal. "If that's not the case, I'm against it. And the blockade of Sweden is one of those measures that I want to see - and there are some others," the politician told Politico.
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Turkey had previously flown out of the American F-35 program because it bought the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft system despite warnings from the West. While neighboring Greece is equipping its military with modern F-35 fighter jets and French Dassault Rafale F3R, Turkey has not yet been able to buy modern F-16s. (erpe)