Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed the dependence of the ratification of Sweden's accession to NATO on the decisions of Canada and the United States of America. He pointed out that positive changes in the decisions of the USA and Canada regarding arms embargo issues may contribute to faster ratification of Sweden's accession in the Turkish parliament.
Erdogan also said he had discussed the issue of the fighter jets in a telephone conversation with the US president and that both sides agreed that Turkey should take a decision on Sweden's accession through parliament. The Biden administration has already approved the sale of F-16s to Turkey, but a decision in Congress has been delayed by various issues, including Turkey's play on Sweden's NATO accession and human rights abuses.
Turkey is trying to get approval for the purchase of 40 fighter jets and almost 80 kits for the modernization of existing aircraft from 2021. Although the Biden administration has already agreed to the sale, discussions in Congress continue given Turkey's actions.
Canada is understood to have agreed to resume talks with Turkey on lifting export controls on drone parts and optical equipment after Turkey pledged not to block Sweden's entry into NATO.
