Erdogan: Sweden's NATO membership linked to Turkey's EU accession

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey says Brussels should facilitate the country's accession to the European Union (EU) before Ankara moves to approve Sweden's bid to join NATO.

At a press conference on Monday and shortly before setting out for a major NATO summit in Lithuania, Erdogan, in an unexpected move, said he would urge the summit to open a path for Ankara's EU membership.

"Almost all of the NATO member countries are now members of the EU. I am calling out to these countries that have kept Turkey waiting at the door of the EU for more than 50 years, but I will also call out to Vilnius," the recently-reelected Turkish president said.

The 12-year accession talks were effectively halted after Turkey began a massive crackdown on suspects in connection with a failed military coup in mid-July 2016. The EU reacted strongly to Ankara’s purging of thousands of people from organizations and institutions over alleged links to the coup attempt.

But relations between Ankara and Brussels improved. The EU depends on Turkey's help, particularly in curbing the flow of illegal migrants heading to Europe.

"First, let's pave the way for Turkey in the EU, and then we will pave the way for Sweden just as we did for Finland," Erdogan said, adding that he would express these views and make the demands while meeting with leaders on the sidelines of the summit.

Sweden cannot join NATO while inciting Islamophobia, Erdogan hints

Turkish president slams the latest desecration of the holy Quran in Sweden, hinting that Stockholm cannot join NATO while inciting Islamophobia and terrorism.

Turkey wants Sweden to extradite or expel alleged supporters of the Kurdish militant group PKK, which is labeled a terrorist organization by the US and the EU, as well as supporters of the Kurdish YPG forces in Syria and followers of the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. Erdogan alleges Gulen masterminded the 2016 coup attempt.

Erdogan said a country where terrorists roam freely in the streets was untrustworthy, referring to the Swedish government's treatment of the PKK militants living in the Nordic country.

The Turkish president has previously said his country cannot ratify Sweden's NATO application before the Qur'an burning is stopped, referring to the recent public burning of a copy of the Muslim holy book in Sweden.

To join NATO, Sweden needs the approval of its entire current members, including Turkey, which has been a member for over 70 years and has its second-largest army.

Stoltenberg: For Turkey to accept Sweden's NATO accession issues need to be resolved

NATO

This is the first time Erdogan has made a link between Turkey’s long-forgotten EU accession and Sweden’s NATO membership bid.

Shortly after Russia's war in Ukraine began in February 2022, Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership, abandoning policies of military non-alignment that had lasted through the decades of the Cold War.

In April, Finland finally managed to secure NATO membership, but Turkey and Hungary have yet to clear Sweden's bid. Stockholm has been working hard to make the arrangements to join the alliance at the two-day summit in Vilnius.

Later in the day, Erdogan said he would have a trilateral meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. "As for Sweden, the process continues. Our relevant institutions maintain their contacts with their Swedish counterparts with a transparent and well-intentioned manner."

"As Turkey, we are tired of repeating that we need to fight terrorist organizations and their extensions indiscriminately."

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