Turkey set to delay Sweden's NATO bid until US paves way for F-16 jet sales to Ankara

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said that parliament will fulfil its commitment to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership application if US President Joe Biden’s administration facilitates the sale of F-16 jets to Ankara, according to Turkish media. Talking to the media, Erdogan said that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed Sweden’s NATO membership bid last week in New York. Erdogan, while on his flight back from Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhchivan told reporters that the US administration is linking F-16 fighter jet sales to Turkey with Ankara’s ratification of Sweden’s bid. “If they (the U.S.) keep their promises, our parliament will keep its own promise as well. Turkish parliament will have the final say on Sweden’s NATO membership,” he said.