The leaders of the two countries, Turkey and Hungary, which continue to block Swedish NATO membership have met in Budapest for two days.
In a statement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he has received positive signals from the United States about the sale of F-16 fighter jets and from Canada regarding the country’s arms embargo, which allows Turkey to move forward towards ratifying Sweden’s application for membership in NATO. Reuters reports.
– We expect a positive development both in terms of the F-16 and Canada’s promises. It would help our parliament to have a positive attitude towards Sweden. Everything is connected, Erdogan told a reporter, according to the TV company Haberturk and other media.
Spoke with Biden recently
As recently as last week, Turkey’s president spoke with US President Joe Biden and talked about Sweden’s NATO application. Erdogan then brought up his desire to buy American warplanes.
– We also discussed the issue of the F-16 between us and the USA in this context. During the meeting, he said: “If you approve this in parliament, I will send it (F-16) to Congress in the same way,” Erdogan said, according to several Turkish media outlets, including TRT.
Erdogan has previously submitted Turkey’s approval of Sweden’s membership to the parliament in Ankara. But there the voting has dragged on.
Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO countries that have not yet said yes to Sweden in the alliance.