Erdogan says Turkey won’t ratify Sweden’s NATO bid before October

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that Turkey will not be able to ratify Sweden’s NATO candidacy until at least October because parliament is not in session.

“There is a two-month parliament holiday. Of course, it will not be possible to end this holiday before October,” Erdogan tells reporters at the end of a two-day NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

“There are many international agreements, there are many legislative proposals that need to be discussed. We take them up in the order of their importance. But our goal is to finish this process as soon as possible,” Erdogan says.

Erdogan’s comments threaten to both disappoint and worry Swedish and NATO officials. Some Western leaders had hoped that Turkey would be able to finish the ratification process in the coming weeks.