A last-minute agreement has been reached between Turkey, Finland and Sweden to allow the two Nordic countries to become members of NATO on the eve of the military alliance summit in Madrid.
NATO said a trilateral agreement had been reached at a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson in the Spanish capital.
After a period of intense negotiations, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday evening: “I am pleased to announce that we now have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO. “.
“Turkey, Finland and Sweden have signed a memorandum addressing Turkey’s concerns, including arms exports and the fight against terrorism,” he added.
Andersson praised the deal as a “very good deal,” rejecting claims he had granted too much to Erdogan to persuade him to drop his veto.
“Taking the next step towards full NATO membership is, of course, important for Sweden and Finland. But it is also a very important step for NATO, because our countries will be security providers within the EU. ‘NATO,’ he told Agence France-Presse.
Andersson said he had shown the Turkish leader the changes in Sweden’s terrorism legislation that will come into force next month.
“And, of course, we will continue our fight against terrorism and as NATO members do too with closer cooperation with Turkey,” the Swedish prime minister said.
Historically, Sweden and Finland had refused to apply for NATO membership, in part because of mixed public opinion and caution about their security relationship with Russia. But that changed drastically after Russia launched an unprovoked attack on Ukraine in February, prompting the two countries to ask to join.
It means that Swedish and Finnish leaders will be able to attend the NATO summit on Wednesday and Thursday as guests, which means their countries are on a firm path to full integration, subject only to ratification by member states. . It is considered a technical step.
Turkey had said it would block requests from Sweden and Finland unless it received satisfactory assurances that the Nordic countries were willing to address what it considers support for Kurdish groups it designates as terrorist organizations, in particular the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). ).
Because NATO operates by consensus, it is possible that a country of the 30-strong military alliance will block an application, giving Ankara influence when the two countries tried to unite earlier this year.
Turkey “got what it wanted” from Sweden and Finland before agreeing to support its impulses to join NATO, Erdogan’s office said on Tuesday. “Turkey has made significant gains in the fight against terrorist organizations,” the Turkish statement said, adding: “Turkey got what it wanted.”
The text of the memorandum signed by the three leaders says Finland and Sweden will “extend their full support” to Turkey on national security issues.
The Nordic countries said they confirmed that the PKK was a banned organization and, in a key concession, “would not support” the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union (PYD) party and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) groups. ) who have been active in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria. Finland and Sweden stated in the agreement that there were no national arms embargoes related to sales in Turkey and the three countries said they would work together on extradition requests.
Sweden hosts 100,000 Kurdish refugees and Turkey has requested the extradition of people it says are linked to the PKK or the Syrian YPG.
Stoltenberg said Finland and Sweden had agreed to a “larger amendment to its domestic law” to give Turkey the anti-terrorist guarantees it had sought, and that they would be “repressing PKK activities” and “entering into an agreement with Turkey on extradition “.
U.S. President Joe Biden congratulated the three countries on reaching the agreement, which he described as “a crucial step toward a NATO invitation to Finland and Sweden, which will strengthen our alliance and strengthen our collective security “.
Boris Johnson greeted the announcement with a tweet: “Fantastic news when we start the NATO Summit. The membership of Sweden and Finland will make our brilliant alliance stronger and safer.”