Turkey Drops Opposition To Sweden, Finland Joining NATO

Sweden and Finland are CLEARED to join NATO after negotiations with Turkey and ahead of Biden's meeting with Erdogan on Wednesday

EMILY GOODIN

The leaders of Turkey, Sweden and Finland have signed a trilateral agreement that will clear the way for the two Nordic states to join NATO and clears objections from Istanbul over the application.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced the deal on Tuesday evening ahead of President Joe Biden's scheduled meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday.

'I am pleased to announce we now have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO,' Stoltenberg said.

'Turkey, Finland and Sweden have signed a memorandum that addresses Turkey's concerns, including around arms exports and the fight against terrorism,' he added.

Details will be worked out over then next could of days but the deal comes as Europe faces its worst security crisis in decades in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Turkey, meanwhile, said it had 'got what it wanted' including 'full cooperation… in the fight against' the rebel groups. 

'Our joint memorandum underscores the commitment of Finland, Sweden and Türkiye to extend their full support against threats to each other's security,' Finish President Sauli Niinistö said in a statement.

Turkey Makes Deal With Sweden, Finland to Drop Opposition to Their NATO Applications

Sputnik News

After weeks of political maneuvering, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan got everything he wanted from Sweden and Finland and announced on Tuesday he was dropping his opposition to their admission into the NATO alliance.

The decision was reached following an agreement between the three nations on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, on Tuesday. According to a NATO news release, a trilateral memorandum was signed by the foreign ministers of the three countries – Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu of Türkiye, Pekka Haavisto of Finland, and Ann Linde of Sweden – in the presence of the three nations’ national leaders, as well as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

Sweden and Finland were prodded into applying to join the alliance in May, following the launching of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, but Erdogan objected, saying the two Northern European nations support Kurdish groups designated by Ankara as terrorists organizations.

Erdogan has played both sides of the dispute between Russia and Ukraine, selling Kiev drones while refusing to give in to Western demands to sanction Moscow.

Although Stockholm and Helsinki have long affiliated with NATO in various capacities, their formal entry into the mutual-defense pact will add 830 miles of border between NATO and Russia - more than double its present 754 miles.