Biden of the United States and Erdogan of Turkey met on Thursday (December 14) to discuss Sweden's application for NATO membership and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
White House spokesman Kirby said: "They talked about NATO and Sweden's accession, and I wouldn't be surprised if ** made it clear in the call that it continues to support Turkey's purchase of F16 fighter jets to modernize their Air Force program." ”
This is the first time Biden and Erdogan have spoken on the phone since the resumption of the conflict between Palestine and Israel on October 7.
Erdogan spoke about the Israeli-Palestinian war in **. Erdogan told Biden that the United States has a "historic responsibility" to ensure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The Turkish government issued a statement saying that Erdogan said that "the further intensification and prolongation of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip may have a negative impact on the region and the world" and that "the withdrawal of unconditional support for Israel by the United States will ensure that the ceasefire is quickly achieved."
Erdogan is one of the most outspoken critics of Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip in the Muslim world.
After Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Sweden and Finland applied to NATO at the same time in May. In July of the same year, representatives of the 30 NATO member states signed the protocol on the accession of Sweden and Finland to the treaty. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on July 10 that Turkey** had agreed to submit Sweden's NATO accession protocol to its parliament for ratification.
According to the protocol, all NATO members must unanimously agree to admit new members. Finland was officially allowed to join NATO on April 4 this year, but Sweden's accession protocol has yet to be ratified by Turkey and Hungary. Szijjártó, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economy, has said that if Turkey's position changes, Hungary will not delay the process of any country's accession to NATO.
In October 2021, Turkey demanded the purchase of 40 Lockheed Martin F16 fighter jets, as well as 79 modernized components of existing fighters. Biden of the United States supports the US$20 billion (S$26.6 billion) arms sales plan, but the U.S. Congress has opposed the deal, citing Turkey's delay in approving Sweden's accession to NATO and human rights issues in Turkey.