Turkey on Tuesday abandoned its stance against Sweden and Finland joining NATO, paving the way for these two Russian neighbors to join Moscow’s hostile Alliance after decades of military neutrality.
“I am pleased to announce that we have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO,” said Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in Madrid, where it will officially open. Wednesday is the peak of the military bloc.
“Turkey, Finland and Sweden have signed a memorandum of understanding that addresses Turkey’s concerns, including arms exports and the fight against terrorism,” he said.
Turkey, on the other hand, declared that it “got what it wanted” to open the door to the two Scandinavian countries.
“Turkey has made significant progress in the fight against terrorist organizations,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office said in a statement. Said.
The two countries applied for membership after Russian President Vladimir Putin began invading Ukraine on February 24 and remained on the borders of the US-led Alliance throughout the Cold War.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said in a statement that the tripartite agreement signed in Madrid “confirms that Turkey will support Finland and Sweden’s invitation to become NATO members at this week’s Madrid summit.”
No US counterpart
The United States congratulated the news and declared that there was no concession regarding Ankara’s opening its doors.
A US official, on condition of anonymity, said it was a “big boost” for NATO.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson predicted that membership would make the Alliance “stronger, more secure”.
On May 18, the Swedish and Finnish foreign ministers formally submitted their applications for NATO membership to Stoltenberg, but Turkey quickly declared its opposition, stopping a process that required the approval of all 30 allies.
The Turkish government accused Sweden and Finland of harboring members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an organization deemed “terrorist” by Ankara.
He also denounced the presence in Sweden of supporters of preacher Fethullah Gülen, whom he suspected to be the mastermind of the July 2016 coup attempt against Erdoğan.
Finally, he demanded the lifting of the arms export blockade imposed by the two Scandinavian countries after their military intervention in northern Syria in October 2019, the tightening of Sweden’s anti-terrorism legislation, and the extradition of large numbers of people he deemed “terrorists”.
“No ally has been subjected to more brutal terrorist attacks than Turkey, including those by the PKK terror group,” Stoltenberg said.
“The Turkish government and the Finnish and Swedish governments have agreed to develop cooperation in the fight against terrorism,” said Erdogan, noting that this includes taking measures against PKK activities and reaching an agreement with Turkey on extradition.
“Membership is vital as we face the biggest security crisis in decades,” Stoltenberg said.
source: Noticias
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