German newspaper Die Welt claims in an opinion piece that Turkey and Hungary should not be trusted within the NATO alliance. The paper writes that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continues to block Sweden’s NATO accession, and Hungary wants EU money in exchange for approving the membership of both nations.

Turkey’s Ambassador Murat Mercan recently argued in Defense One that “transitioning transatlantic security priorities to an era of great power competition inevitably will necessitate exploring venues of gradual rapprochement between Turkey and the United States.” This could not be further from the truth. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Ankara would approve Finland’s NATO application before the country’s May election. Erdoğan made the announcement after meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto in Ankara.

Despite suspending negotiations with Sweden, Turkey now says it is ready to approve Finland's bid to join NATO, an approval likely to be formally announced Friday when Finnish President Sauli Niinisto travels to Istanbul to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

On Wednesday Erdogan had responded positively to reporters' questions over whether Turkish parliament stands ready to ratify Finland's membership after the Niinisto meeting. Erdogan responded: "God willing, if it is for the best." He also mentioned keeping "our promise".

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin highlighted Washington’s intention to strengthen relations with Türkiye.

“We intend to do everything possible to keep it that way,” Austin told reporters in response to a question about Ankara’s request to purchase F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits for its existing fleet.

Austin declined to comment on any potential arms sales ahead of official congressional notification but emphasized that “Turkey remains a very valuable partner, and we’ll make sure that we’re doing everything we can to continue to strengthen our relationship.”