British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that he hopes Türkiye approves Sweden's NATO bid so the bloc can proceed with ratifying Stockholm's membership as soon as possible.
According to a statement by a Downing Street spokesperson, Sunak pointed out the "significant benefits" of Sweden's membership.
The spokesperson said the two spoke on Friday on a range of matters, including Ukraine, their bilateral relationship and tackling illegal immigration.
"He underlined the significant benefits of Sweden joining NATO and the progress they have made in addressing Turkey's legitimate security concerns and hoped the alliance could proceed with ratifying their accession as soon as possible," the spokesperson said before a NATO summit next week.
Earlier on Friday, Erdoğan said Türkiye cannot approve Sweden’s NATO membership bid while it’s still embracing terrorists, effectively squashing any hopes of Ankara’s ratification before the NATO summit next week.
NATO and Western allies have been pressuring Ankara to ratify Stockholm’s bid before the summit in Vilnius this Tuesday, but Erdoğan has been resolute and recent anti-Türkiye and anti-Islam demonstrations in Sweden have further drawn his ire.
Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership soon after Russia launched a war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Although Türkiye approved Finland's membership, it is waiting for Sweden to abide by a trilateral memorandum signed last June in Madrid to address Ankara's security concerns about terrorism and terror groups like PKK and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
