Vice President of Turkey: Ankara was not offered a loan in exchange for Sweden’s NATO membership
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Reports that the United States offered Turkey an IMF loan in exchange for approval of Sweden’s NATO membership are speculation, Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz told local media.
“Türkiye is a country that has chosen its own path. We are a country that does its own work. Our relationship in connection with our debt to the IMF has ended. In a very difficult period, our country has continued and will continue its successful work. This is nothing but speculation.” said he (quote from RIA Novosti).
On July 13, American journalist Seymour Hersh, citing his own sources, reported that US President Joe Biden promised Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) if Turkey agreed to the admission of Sweden to NATO.
According to Hersh, it was about an IMF credit line of $11-13 billion. Such an offer may be associated with a costly recovery from the earthquake that struck southeast Turkey in February.
On July 12, Erdogan, commenting on the results of the NATO summit in Vilnius, expressed the hope that the issue of Sweden’s application to NATO would become “one of the priorities of the international agenda” of the autumn session of the Turkish parliament. At the same time, the Turkish president stressed that Turkey’s accession to the European Union must be approved before that.
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