Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed that "ending the Russian-Ukrainian war will facilitate Kyiv's accession to NATO," affirming his support for the alliance's open-door policy. Before departing to participate in the NATO summit in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, he announced that "he will hold a trilateral meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson," noting that "Sweden's accession to NATO depends on its implementation of the Madrid Agreement."
Erdogan stated that he "expects the European Union to open a path for Ankara to obtain full membership so that Ankara can pave the way for Sweden's accession to NATO," adding that he would inform the leaders at the NATO summit of his expectations regarding Turkey's full EU membership. He emphasized that "the Turkish parliament will have the final word on Sweden's NATO membership."
Erdogan anticipated a visit from "Russian President Vladimir Putin to Turkey in August," stating that he would "discuss with him the extension of an agreement allowing grain exports from Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea beyond the expiration date of July 17." He revealed that he "discussed the purchase of F-16 aircraft in a phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden and will hold further talks with him during the NATO summit," clarifying that “the expansion of NATO and the purchase of F-16s from America are two separate matters."
Erdogan urged the countries that have kept Turkey waiting at the door of the EU for over 50 years, saying: "Come first and open the path for Turkey into the EU, and then we will open the path for Sweden as we did with Finland." He added that he would "repeat this call during the summit."
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership last year following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, abandoning decades of military non-alignment policies established during the Cold War. While Finland received approval for NATO membership in April, Sweden's application has faced rejection from Turkey and Hungary so far. Stockholm will continue its efforts to join the alliance during the Vilnius summit.
