Ankara got what it wanted, NATO too. Obstacle to the entry of Sweden and Finland into the Organization, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ended up lifting his veto on Tuesday, avoiding a setback for the Alliance on the first day of his summit in Madrid. The formal entry of the two countries, which must be ratified by the parliaments of the 30 member states, is however a long process that takes months.
“I am delighted to announce that we have an agreement which paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join” and which addresses “Turkey’s concerns about arms exports and the fight against terrorism said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The members will therefore be able to officially “invite” the two Nordic countries to join the Alliance on Wednesday.
Joe Biden for his part “congratulated Turkey, Finland and Sweden” for signing this agreement. The integration of these two countries will “strengthen the collective security of NATO and will benefit the whole of the transatlantic Alliance”. “As we begin this historic summit in Madrid, our Alliance is stronger, more united and more determined than ever,” continued the American president.
After several rounds of negotiations in recent weeks, the strongman of Ankara had met several hours upon his arrival in Madrid with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinistö and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. Turkey blocked the membership of Sweden and Finland because it accused them of harboring militants of the Kurdish organization PKK, which it considers “terrorist”.
She also denounced the presence in these countries of supporters of the preacher Fethullah Gülen, suspected of having orchestrated an attempted coup in Turkey in July 2016. Ankara also demanded the lifting of arms export blockades decided upon at its meeting by Stockholm after the Turkish military intervention in northern Syria in 2019.
Erdogan-Biden meeting this Wednesday
According to Jens Stoltenberg, as part of this agreement, the two Nordic countries pledged to “strengthen their cooperation” in the fight against terrorism with Ankara and to agree on the “extraditions” of members of Kurdish organizations that Turkey considers as “terrorists”. Turkey has secured “full cooperation” from the Nordic countries against the PKK and its allies, the Turkish presidency has said.
Washington further asserted that Turkey did not make “any particular request for concessions from the Americans” to lift its opposition. Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also due to meet Joe Biden on the sidelines of the summit on Wednesday. Before leaving for Madrid, the Turkish president had stressed that the “most important subject” between Ankara and Washington was “that of the F-16s”, in reference to the fighter planes ordered and partially paid for by Ankara, but from which Washington suspended the delivery contract after Turkey acquired a Russian S-400 defense system.
Source: 20minutes
I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.
