ISTANBUL — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey mentioned on Monday that the European Union ought to open the best way for Turkey to hitch the bloc earlier than Turkey permits Sweden to hitch NATO, including a shocking new situation that would additional stall the army alliance’s efforts to develop.
Mr. Erdogan’s newest demand got here a day earlier than the opening of NATO’s two-day annual summit, the place leaders, together with President Biden, had hoped to safe unanimous approval from member states to permit Sweden to grow to be the thirty second member.
That end result now seems more and more unlikely, with Mr. Erdogan posing the principle impediment to Sweden’s membership.
“First, clear the best way for Turkey within the European Union, then we are going to clear the best way for Sweden as we did for Finland,” Mr. Erdogan advised reporters earlier than touring to the NATO summit.
Leaders of the European Union and NATO member states will not be prone to reply positively, since they’re separate organizations which have many overlapping members however completely totally different functions. Turkey utilized to hitch the European Union in 1987, however there was scarcely any progress in its bid since 2016, when the European Parliament voted to droop accession talks whereas criticizing an enormous Turkish authorities crackdown on political opponents after a failed coup towards Mr. Erdogan.
NATO’s secretary normal, Jens Stoltenberg, mentioned on Monday that he helps Turkey’s ambition to hitch the European Union, however that it was not among the many situations set by officers from Turkey, Sweden and Finland final yr at a NATO summit in Madrid.
“We have to keep in mind that what we agreed in Madrid was a particular checklist of situations that Sweden has to fulfill to be a full member of the alliance, and Sweden has met these situations,” Mr. Stoltenberg advised reporters in Lithuania.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, which is a member of each the European Union and NATO, mentioned that the 2 points shouldn’t be linked.
“Sweden meets all the necessities for NATO membership,” Mr. Scholz advised reporters in Berlin. “The opposite query is one that’s unrelated, and so I don’t suppose it must be taken as a associated difficulty.”
Sweden utilized to hitch NATO final yr, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. All NATO nations should conform to admit new members, a rule that has given Mr. Erdogan super leverage to demand concessions.
Turkey has accused Sweden of offering a permissive surroundings for dissidents whom Turkey considers terrorists, together with pro-Kurdish activists and members of a spiritual group that Turkey has accused of planning the 2016 coup try.
In current months, Sweden has made efforts to fulfill Turkey’s calls for, amending its Structure, passing new counterterrorism laws and agreeing to extradite a number of Turks who stand accused of crimes in Turkey. However Swedish courts have blocked different extraditions, and Swedish officers have mentioned that they can’t override their nation’s free-speech protections.
Mr. Erdogan has continued to say that Sweden should do extra.
A brand new complication arose late final month after a person publicly burned a Quran at a protest in Stockholm on a significant Muslim vacation. Mr. Erdogan criticized Sweden for allowing the protest and mentioned that the Swedish authorities wanted to combat Islamophobia, although that had not been among the many points Sweden had agreed with Turkey to handle.
Hungary is the one different NATO member that has but to approve Sweden’s bid, however Hungarian officers have mentioned that if Turkey’s place adjustments, they might not impede the method. Finland utilized similtaneously Sweden, however overcame Turkey’s preliminary objections and joined the alliance in April.
By linking Turkey’s drive to hitch the European Union with Sweden’s becoming a member of NATO, Mr. Erdogan threw one other wrench into the alliance’s negotiations lower than 24 hours earlier than NATO leaders are anticipated to convene in Vilnius, Lithuania, for his or her annual summit. On Sunday, President Biden spoke with Mr. Erdogan and advised him of “his want to welcome Sweden into NATO as quickly as attainable,” in line with a terse account of the decision supplied by the White Home.
Adam Hodge, a spokesman for the Nationwide Safety Council, mentioned america continues to help Turkey’s aspirations to hitch the European Union, including that the bid was a matter between these events.
“Our focus is on Sweden, which is able to be part of the NATO alliance,” he mentioned.
Earlier than touring to the summit, Mr. Erdogan mentioned once more on Monday that Sweden couldn’t count on to hitch till it had met all of Turkey’s calls for with respect to terrorism.
“No one ought to count on compromise nor understanding from me,” he mentioned.
Gulsin Harman and Christopher F. Schuetze contributed reporting.
