A last-minute agreement has been reached between Turkey, Finland and Sweden to allow the two Nordic countries to become NATO members on the eve of the military alliance’s summit in Madrid.

NATO said a trilateral deal had been reached at a meeting between Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Sauli Niinistö of Finland and the Swedish prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, in the Spanish capital.

After a period of intensive negotiations, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary general, said on Tuesday evening, “I am pleased to announce that we now have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO.”

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

Among its many shattering consequences, President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted Sweden and Finland to abandon their long-held nonaligned status and apply to join NATO as protection against an increasingly aggressive and unpredictable Russia — which shares a long border with Finland. Under NATO treaties, an attack on any member would be considered an attack against all and trigger a military response by the entire alliance.

Turkey, who was the sole holdout, was previously adamantly against the NATO expansion, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accusing Finland and Sweden of taking a lax stance against “terrorists,” referring to Kurdish rebels.

Turkey, which hailed Tuesday’s decision as a major victory, said the Nordic nations have agreed to crack down on groups deemed to be a national security threat, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and its Syrian extension. Turkey also said they agreed “not to impose embargo restrictions in the field of defense industry” and to take “concrete steps on the extradition of terrorist criminals.”

Turkey has demanded Finland and Sweden extradite wanted individuals and lift arms restrictions imposed after Turkey’s 2019 military incursion into northeast Syria.

In return, Ankara agreed “to support at the 2022 Madrid Summit the invitation of Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO.” 

A formal invitation into the 30-country-alliance is expected to be issued on Wednesday before each individual country approves the decision, according to Stoltenberg. He said is “absolutely confident” that the two will become NATO members, perhaps officially in just a matter of months.

Image source: AFP