Sources told Reuters that Turkey is prepared to postpone the ratification of Sweden's NATO membership request this month while awaiting indications of U.S. support for its request to purchase F-16 fighter jets, which could disappoint alliance members hoping to end a 17-month delay. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had promised during the NATO summit in July to send the request to the Turkish parliament for ratification when it resumed sessions in October, which seemed like a green light from Ankara after objections and accusations against Sweden for harboring terrorists.
However, since the parliament convened on October 1, the foreign affairs committee, responsible for discussing Sweden's NATO membership request, has received nearly 60 international agreements to review, none of which include Sweden's request, according to official data. Two informed sources told Reuters that Ankara wants to act in tandem with Washington, as the State Department is expected to seek congressional approval at some point for a $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey and dozens of modernization packages. A ruling party official from Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party indicated that "due to the lack of trust regarding the F-16 issue and Sweden, Turkey is not in a hurry to ratify the NATO membership request and is looking for a signal that the U.S. will take steps at the same time."
