US State Dept: Sweden's NATO Bid Separate From Turkey's EU Ambitions

Reuters reports comments from US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stating that the Biden administration considers Turkey's EU aspirations and Sweden NATO bid "separate issues," after Turkish President Recep Erdogan today linked the two amid continued opposition to Sweden's NATO accession.

• Miller said that the administration does not believe that Turkey's EU aspirations should be an impediment to Sweden joining NATO.
• Erdogan said on Turkish television today, shortly before departing for the NATO summit in Vilnius, “First, open the way to Turkey's membership of the European Union, and then we will open [Nato membership] for Sweden, just as we had opened it for Finland."
• Middle East Eye reports that Erdogan also raised the issue in a call with President Biden yesterday and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan relayed the same message to Secretary of State Antony Blinken over the weekend.
• Linking Sweden's NATO bid with Turkey EU talks is likely a non-starter. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said earlier today: “That’s a question that is not related to the other issue, and therefore I think this should not be seen as a related matter.”