the president of TurkeyRecep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of SwedenMagdalena Andersson, and the president of FinlandSaulio Niinisto, signed a three-way agreement on Tuesday by virtue of which Ankara lifts its veto on the accession of Helsinki and Stockholm to the Atlantic Alliance.
The leaders of the three countries held a four-way meeting in Madrid on Tuesday with the participation of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, on the eve of the Atlantic Alliance summit in the Spanish capital.
According to a statement issued by sources from the Turkish delegation at the NATO summit that begins this Wednesday in Madrid, the two Nordic countries have agreed to “fully cooperate with Turkey in the fight against the PKK (the Kurdish guerrilla active in Turkey) and its extensions”.
Finally, the document was signed by the Turkish foreign ministers, Mevlüt Çavusoglu; Finland, Pekka Haavisto, and Sweden, Ann Linde, without saying a word or giving any explanation, which was later carried out by Stoltenberg.
“I am pleased to announce that we have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO,” Stoltenberg later confirmed at a press conference.
Turkey had stopped the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO alleging their alleged collusion with organizations such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
The Allied Secretary General explained that he held a “very constructive meeting” between the parties, in which this resolution was reached.
Moments before his appearance, Stoltenberg witnessed, together with the three leaders, the signing, before the press, of “a memorandum that addresses Turkey’s concerns”, including the issue of arms exports and the fight against terrorism.
The former Norwegian prime minister said that this Wednesday, during the first day of the summit, the allied leaders “will take the decision to invite Finland and Sweden to join NATO to become NATO members”, adding that after the meeting from Madrid will become officially “invited” to join the transatlantic club.
A ratification procedure in the capitals of all member states will then be necessary for Sweden and Finland to become formal members of the Alliance and to be covered by article 5 of the Washington treaty on collective defence.
In any case, Stoltenberg showed “absolute confidence” that this procedure will be successful.
Sweden and Finland formally requested to join the Atlantic Alliance in May as they felt threatened by Russia’s aggressive behavior after having invaded Ukraine.