Erdogan Demands Turkey's EU Membership in Exchange for Sweden’s NATO Accession

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that he could support Sweden's application to join NATO if the European Union begins negotiations on his country's EU membership. This was reported by the BBC's Russian service.

Erdogan's unexpected statement has been condemned by several European politicians, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “Sweden meets all the requirements for NATO membership,” Scholz told reporters in Berlin, “And Turkey’s accession to the EU is another issue that has nothing to do with this.”

An anonymous EU official quoted by the Economist called Erdogan's proposal blackmail, comparing it to the rhetoric of Turkey's leader during the migration crisis of 2015.