Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed, via phone on Sunday, with US counterpart Joe Biden Sweden and Ukraine’s bids to join NATO and the US sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye.
The presidents agreed to have a one-on-one meeting at an upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius, said a statement by the Turkish Presidency.
On Sweden’s ongoing efforts to join NATO, Erdogan told Biden that Stockholm took “correct steps” by passing recent anti-terror amendments, but these were nullified by flagrant demonstrations by sympathizers of the PKK terror group.
He said it would be incorrect to link the sale of F-16 jets to Turkiye with Sweden’s NATO accession, while thanking his US counterpart for his support to Ankara on its desire to purchase the fighter aircraft from Washington.
The two leaders also discussed Turkiye’s EU accession process and Ukraine’s position vis-a-vis NATO during the call.
Underlining that Turkiye has been principled and honest on joining the EU, Erdogan said Ankara wanted to revive its accession process for full membership in the bloc.
He added that Turkiye wanted leading EU countries and the bloc’s leadership to give a clear and strong message of support for its membership during the Vilnius summit.
Source: Kuwait News Agency