White House Comments on Turkey's EU Membership

The White House revealed on Monday that the United States has always supported Turkey's aspirations to join the European Union and continues to do so, adding that these discussions are a matter between Turkey and the members of the bloc. The spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House stated, "Our focus is on Sweden ready for NATO membership." For its part, the U.S. State Department noted that Turkey's aspirations to join the European Union should not be an obstacle for Sweden's bid to join NATO, following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's linkage of the two issues. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, "We believe they are separate matters."