OSLO: However, he added that the Biden administration also thought that Turkiye should be given upgraded F-16 fighters "as soon as possible." US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Tuesday that the "time is now" for Turkiye to drop its objections to Sweden joining NATO.
Blinken argued that although some US lawmakers had, the administration had not connected the two problems. In a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, President Joe Biden alluded to a connection between the two issues.
"I spoke with Erdogan, and he still desires to work on the F-16s. I informed him that we desired a deal with Sweden. Therefore, let's complete that," Biden said. Blinken insisted that the two problems were separate nonetheless. The completion of both, he insisted, would significantly increase European security.
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At a joint press conference with Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in the northern Swedish city of Lulea, Blinken stated, "In our opinion, both of these are vital to European security." We think that both the accession of Sweden and the progress on the F-16 package generally should be made as quickly as possible.
The time, in our opinion, is now, Blinken declared. He refrained from forecasting when Turkey and Hungary, the only other NATO members who have not yet approved Sweden's membership, would do so.
However, he added, "we have no doubt that it can be, it should be, and we expect it to be" finished by the time alliance leaders meet in July in Vilnius, Lithuania at an annual summit.
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Erdogan might be ready to drop his objections to Sweden's membership after a convincing reelection victory over the weekend. A series of Qur'an-burning protests in Stockholm infuriated Erdogan's religious base, which helped to increase the popularity of his tough stance. Erdogan also accuses Sweden of being too lenient towards groups that Ankara views as terrorists.
Since the vote on Sunday, the two sides have been in contact, according to Kristersson, who did not hesitate to discuss the advantages Sweden would bring to NATO "when we join the alliance."
Blinken is currently in Sweden for a meeting of the US-EU Trade and Technology Council. On Wednesday, he will travel to Oslo, Norway for a meeting of the NATO foreign ministers before continuing on to Finland, a recent member of the alliance.
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Before the gathering of foreign ministers, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the objective was to bring Sweden into the alliance before the leaders' summit in July. There are no guarantees, but it is definitely possible to come to a resolution and allow Sweden to be granted full membership by the Vilnius summit, according to Stoltenberg.