• Turkey taking its time supporting Sweden’s NATO ambition.
• Tayyip Erdogan had pledged to send Sweden’s NATO bid.
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• Turkey wants to synchronize its actions with the United States.

Turkey is contemplating delaying the ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership bid as it awaits signs of U.S. support for its request to purchase F-16 fighter jets.

This move may disappoint NATO allies who have been waiting for a resolution to Sweden’s bid, which has been delayed for 17 months.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had pledged to send Sweden’s NATO bid to Turkey’s parliament for ratification in October in July.

However, since the parliament’s reopening on October 1, Sweden’s bid hasn’t been discussed by the foreign affairs commission, which is responsible for debating NATO bids.

Sources reveal that Turkey wants to synchronize its actions with the United States, where the State Department is expected to seek congressional approval for a $20-billion sale of F-16 fighters to Turkey and modernization kits.

A rough proposal, where both sides would take steps simultaneously for the ratification of the NATO bid and the F-16 purchase, has been postponed, according to another source.

Turkey is likely to endorse Sweden’s NATO bid eventually, but President Erdogan is in no hurry. Recent incidents, such as a bomb attack in Ankara on the day parliament opened and the downing of a Turkish drone by the United States, have made Turkey cautious.

Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sweden’s bid has been delayed by Turkey and Hungary while Finland’s membership was sealed in April.

Turkey argues that Sweden must take more measures to combat the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) within its borders.

Sweden has stated it has fulfilled the commitments agreed in a deal with Turkey and Finland and believes the NATO membership issue will be resolved soon.

President Erdogan has suggested that Sweden’s ratification could be exchanged for U.S. approval to upgrade Turkey’s F-16 fighter fleet.

There are concerns in Congress about Turkey’s stance on NATO enlargement and its human rights record despite the White House endorsing the sale of F-16s.

A potential strain in U.S.-Turkish relations has also emerged due to Turkey’s stance on Israel’s conflict with Hamas, with President Erdogan criticizing the presence of a U.S. aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean as potentially leading to “serious massacres” in the Gaza Strip.

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