Biden Thank you Erdogan for vetoing Sweden, Finland’s NATO command
On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for releasing his objections to Sweden’s and Finland’s offer to join NATO, leading to the military alliance expanding even closer to Russia.
“I would especially like to thank you for what you did to compile the situation with regard to Finland and Sweden,” Biden told Erdogan during a one-on-one meeting alongside a NATO summit in Madrid. “You’re doing a good job.”
In response, speaking through an interpreter, Erdogan said that Biden’s “pioneering work in this regard will be crucial in strengthening NATO for the future, and it will make a very positive contribution to the process between Ukraine and Russia.”
Turkey, Finland and Sweden on Tuesday signed a memorandum deepening their cooperation against terrorism, which addresses Ankara’s concerns that the two Nordic countries are not doing enough to crack down on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey. European Union, the United States and others.
Finland and Sweden also agreed not to support the Guleni movement, led by US-based priest Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey blames for a failed 2016 coup attempt and other domestic problems.
Helsinki and Stockholm will also end support for the so-called Kurdish People’s Defense Units (YPG) in Syria, part of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which fights against the Islamic State group. In addition, Sweden agreed to end an arms embargo against Turkey, which was dated to its invasion of Syria in 2019.
Invitation to join NATO
When Turkey withdrew its veto, NATO formally invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance earlier on Wednesday.
“It sends a very clear message to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. We show that NATO’s doors are open, said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, characterizing the invitation process as “the fastest in history.”
Helsinki and Stockholm will bring great military capabilities and strategic prospects to the Alliance, says Jim Townsend, a former US Deputy Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy, now at the Atlantic Council.
“Both nations – because they were neutral – had to spend a lot of money and work hard to be a very professional force because they were not in an alliance. They had to trust themselves,” Townsend told VOA. the wolf was required to stand at the door for these nations to enter. “
The two countries applied to join in May, but the process began months earlier during the initial phase of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where Biden reached out to leaders to discuss the possibility of joining NATO, a senior US administration official told reporters. on Tuesday.
Since then, the United States has “worked tirelessly to try to close the gaps between the Turks, Finns and Swedes,” the official said. “All the time, absolutely publicly, trying to have a low-key attitude to this so that it was not about the United States or about special demands on the United States,” he said, referring to Ankara’s long-running request to buy American F-16 fighter jets.
Bid phone calls
The official denied that Ankara made the request of the fighter jet a condition for withdrawing its objections. However, he noted that during a phone call to Erdogan, Biden conveyed his desire to “get this second issue resolved, and then you and I can sit down and really, really talk about important strategic issues.”
The day after Ankara lifted its veto, the administration announced its support for the potential sale of the fighter jet.
Celeste Wallander, Deputy Secretary of Defense for International Security at the Pentagon, told reporters that Washington supports Ankara’s efforts to modernize its navy.
“It is a contribution to NATO security and thus to US security,” she said.
In 2017, despite opposition from the United States and NATO, Turkey signed an agreement to purchase the Russian missile defense system S-400. In response, Washington issued sanctions and kicked out Ankara from its latest, most advanced F-35 jet program. Since then, Turkey has tried to buy 40 modernized F-16s, which are older models of American fighter jets, and modernization kits for another 80 F-16s.
Wallander said all sales of the F-16 “must be processed through our contract processes.” An agreement would likely require congressional approval.
Ukraine cereals
In his meeting, Biden also thanked Erdogan for his “incredible work” in establishing humanitarian corridors to enable the export of Ukrainian grain to the rest of the world in the midst of the war.
“We try to solve the process with a balancing policy. Our hope is that this balance policy will lead to results and give us the opportunity to get grain to countries that are facing shortages right now through a corridor as soon as possible, “said Erdogan in response.
Turkey has played a key role in the negotiations with Kyiv and Russia to increase the amount of grain that can get out of Ukraine. Tens of millions of people around the world are at risk of starvation when the conflict disrupted grain shipments from Ukraine, one of the world’s leading producers.
Earlier this month, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met with his Russian counterpart to discuss unlocking grain from Black Sea ports but failed to reach an agreement. Obstacles remain, including payment mechanisms and mines located by both Moscow and Kyiv in the Black Sea.
Turkey has suggested that ships could be guided around offshore mines by establishing safe corridors under a UN proposal to resume not only Ukrainian grain exports but also Russian food and fertilizer exports, which Moscow says are hurt by sanctions. The UN has “worked closely with the Turkish authorities on this issue,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
VOA’s Henry Ridgwell contributed to this report.