Overview

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has linked the approval of Sweden's NATO membership to the U.S. Congress' approval of F-16 fighter jet sales to Turkey.
• Erdoğan also demands that Canada and other NATO allies lift their arms embargoes against Turkey.
• Turkey and Hungary are the only two NATO members that have not approved Sweden's bid to join the military alliance, delaying the ratification of its membership for over a year.
• Sweden and neighboring Finland have been building closer relationships with Western allies after they abandoned long-standing military neutrality strategies in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
• The U.S. signed a defense deal with Sweden earlier this month, allowing American troops to have access to bases on Swedish territory.