German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Turkey’s bid to join the EU was not linked to Sweden’s NATO membership, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to put a new hurdle to agreeing to ratify Stockholm’s entry into the western military alliance, The Guardian and News.ro.

German Chancellor Olaf ScholzPhoto: Christophe Gateau / AFP / Profimedia

“Turkey has been waiting at the door of the EU for more than 50 years, and almost all NATO member states are now EU members,” Erdogan told reporters on Monday before leaving for Vilnius for a NATO summit.

From Berlin, Chancellor Olaf Scholz responded: “Sweden meets all the requirements for NATO membership,” thereby suggesting that Ankara does not meet the criteria for EU membership. He added: “The other case is not related to this and so I don’t think it should be considered related.”

Erdogan did not specify whether his country’s EU membership was really a new condition for Sweden’s NATO membership or whether it was just rhetoric before he left for Vilnius, where allies led by US President Joe Biden will pressure him to waived the veto.

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The White House, like Scholz, has tried to show that there is no connection between the two problems. A spokesman for the White House National Security Council said the US has always supported Turkey’s bid for EU membership and continues to do so, but added that the talks are a matter between Turkey and members of the European bloc.

“We are focusing on Sweden, which is ready to join NATO,” said the Washington spokesman.

Previously, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed support for Turkey’s desire to become a member of the EU, but also emphasized that Sweden meets all the criteria for joining NATO.

NATO’s secretary general is meeting with the leaders of Turkey and Sweden in Vilnius on Monday in an attempt to resolve Ankara’s blocking of Stockholm’s bid to join NATO.

Last year, NATO invited Sweden to join the alliance, but Turkey blocked the ratification of the decision.

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