Global Courant 2023-05-31 00:43:38
LONDON
Foreign Minister Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that despite opposition from some members of the US Congress, the Biden administration has not linked the two issues between the sale of F-16 jets to Turkey and Sweden’s NATO membership.
“While we don’t link the two issues – by we I mean the Biden administration – some members of Congress attribute Sweden’s participation in NATO to progress on F-16s,” Blinken said. said. Press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Lulea, Sweden.
Blinken described the two as “different issues” and noted that Sweden’s membership in NATO and the sale of the F-16 to Turkey were “vital” for European security.
“As a critical member of the NATO alliance, we believe it is important for Turkey to have F-16s with F-16 upgrades so that they can operate at the alliance’s highest standards and be fully interoperable with each other,” he said.
He said Turkey has expressed “significant and legitimate concerns” about the NATO membership bids of the two Scandinavian countries, and Sweden and Finland have raised these concerns.
“From our point of view, we believe both should move forward and should move forward as soon as possible,” he said.
Ankara requested 40 F-16 jets and modernization kits from Washington in October 2021 and is waiting for the green light from the US Congress.
Some US lawmakers objected to the sale, tying the approval of the sale to the ratification of Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership.
“Each NATO ally must make his own decision”
The Swedish prime minister said he discussed various issues with Blinken, such as the challenges and opportunities in technology and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Noting that the press conference was held in Lulea in northern Sweden, Kristersson said that the Russian border is six and a half hours away from here.
“Filling the regional void in the north will be one of Sweden’s many security contributions to NATO when we join the alliance,” he said.
Kristersson noted that Sweden applied for NATO membership because it understood that “we must defend freedom and democracy together” and that if it becomes a member, Sweden will become the “security provider” of the entire alliance.
In response to a question about negotiations with Turkey, Kristersson said his government has been in constant contact with Turkey on the procurement issue and has been in numerous contact after the presidential election in Turkey on Sunday.
He said Sweden fulfilled its commitments in line with the memorandum last year, and the final chapter will come into effect on June 1 with the new anti-terrorism law.
“We’ve always accepted and respected that every NATO ally must make their own decision and that only Turkey can make those decisions, so that’s basically it.”
Although Turkey approves Finland’s NATO membership, it expects Sweden to comply with the tripartite agreement signed in Madrid last June to address Ankara’s security concerns.
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