- George Wright
- BBC News
Last update 1 hour ago
From the signing of the security agreement between Turkey, Finland and Sweden
Turkey, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), has agreed to support the candidacies of Sweden and Finland for membership in the alliance.
It initially opposed efforts by Nordic countries to join.
Turkey was angered by what it saw as the two countries’ willingness to host Kurdish militants opposed to it. Sweden and Finland could not join NATO without Turkey’s support.
Russia strongly opposes the accession of the two countries, and has considered the expansion of the military alliance of the West a reason for its war in Ukraine.
But the invasion of Moscow had the opposite effect, as it opened the way for the two countries to join NATO.
The foreign ministers of the three countries signed a joint security agreement that addressed Turkey’s concerns.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Sweden had agreed to intensify its work on Turkey’s requests to extradite suspected criminal militants.
He added that the two Scandinavian countries would also lift their restrictions on arms sales to Turkey.
Finnish President Niinisto said the three countries signed a joint memorandum “to offer their full support against threats to each other’s security.”
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said it was “a very important step for NATO”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office said he “got what he wanted” from Sweden and Finland.
The two countries announced their intention to join NATO in May, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Stoltenberg had suggested moving the operation “very quickly” because they already share a close relationship with the alliance.
But this was not the case. Turkey accused the two countries of protecting Kurdish militants, and said it would not support their membership. Any increase in NATO membership must be approved by all 30 members.
photo released, Archyde.com
Erdogan and Stoltenberg during their meeting
Turkey has long accused Sweden of harboring what it describes as militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, but Stockholm denies this.
The two countries have now agreed to some of Turkey’s demands, and the militants will face a crackdown under amendments to Swedish and Finnish laws.
If Finland and Sweden become members of NATO, more than 200 years of Swedish non-alignment will end. As for Finland, it adopted neutrality after the bitter defeat of the Soviet Union during World War II.
Finnish public support for joining NATO over the years has been between 20-25%. But since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has jumped to a record high of 79%, according to the latest poll. In Sweden, 60% of the population said it was right to apply again, much higher than it was before the war.
photo released, Getty Images
NATO membership will end more than 200 years of Swedish non-alignment
Lake NATO
The BBC’s Frank Gardner says: “Finland and Sweden are modern, Western-oriented democracies with well-trained and well-equipped armies used to operate in often difficult conditions in the far north of Europe.”
“Once their accession is complete, the number of NATO countries bordering the Baltic Sea will rise to eight, effectively turning it into a NATO lake,” Gardner adds.
“The two Russian outlets, in St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, will be increasingly isolated,” he explains.