Turkey's Erdoğan Implies No Change In Stance On Swedish Accession

Following talks between Swedish and Turkish officials earlier today in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has implied that he has not changed his stance on denying the Nordic nation's attempts to joint NATO. AFP quotes Erdoğan as stating, "This NATO summit will be held in Vilnius. [...] Sweden has expectations. It doesn't mean that we will comply with them."

• There had been some hopes in Stockholm and at NATO HQ that with the frenzied presidential election period out of the way in Turkey that the gov't might soften its stance on Swedish accession.
• However, the Erdoğan administration appears to judge Sweden's new anti-terrorism law as insufficient in its demands to crack down on anti-Turkey protest and repatriate Kurdish dissidents living in Sweden.
• The spat continues to risk trade and investment relations between Turkey and its NATO partners, most notably the United States, at a time when the flagging Turkish economy is seeking significant capital injections.
• The US Congress is unlikely to approve F-16 jet sales to Turkey while Sweden remains in limbo, while the US and other NATO members could look more unfavourably on strengthening economic links with Ankara while it maintains a hard line stance that is viewed as detrimental to European security.