Sweden and Finland on the verge of NATO membership after agreement with Turkey

Turkey on Tuesday lifted its veto on Sweden and Finland's bid to join NATO, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto announced on the first day of the military alliance's summit in Madrid.

🆕 Türkiye 🇹🇷, Finland 🇫🇮, and Sweden 🇸🇪 sign agreement paving the way for Finnish and Swedish #NATO membership#NATOSummit

— NATO (@NATO) June 28, 2022

After weeks of negotiations with Ankara, the talks intensified in the last few hours ahead of the Madrid summit, reported El País,

"I am pleased to announce that we now have a deal 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 counter-terrorism," confirmed Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in an appearance before international media.

According to the official, the allies will make a decision to formally invite Sweden and Finland to become NATO members on Wednesday. However, the decision on their accession will have to be approved by all members.

Turkey stressed that it "got what it wanted" to lift its veto on the entry of Sweden and Finland, countries it criticized for their lack of condemnation of Kurdish fighters, according to a statement from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office.

"Turkey made significant achievements in the fight against terrorist organizations," the president said in the message, quoted by Deutsche Welle.

"Congratulations to Finland, Sweden, and Turkey for signing a trilateral memorandum, a crucial step toward a NATO invitation to Finland and Sweden, which will strengthen our Alliance and bolster our collective security, and a great way to start the Summit," U.S. President Joe Biden celebrated in a message via Twitter.

Congratulations to Finland, Sweden, and Turkey on signing a trilateral memorandum – a crucial step towards a NATO invite to Finland and Sweden, which will strengthen our Alliance and bolster our collective security – and a great way to begin the Summit. pic.twitter.com/ug47DhRDGl

— President Biden (@POTUS) June 28, 2022

The Russian invasion of Ukraine prompted Sweden and Finland to abandon their non-aligned status and apply for NATO membership. However, Erdogan had blocked the move saying that the two Nordic countries should change their stance on Kurdish rebel groups, considered terrorist organizations by Turkey’s government.

Under the agreement reached, Turkey claims it also got Sweden and Finland to lift their restrictions on arms deliveries to Ankara, an embargo stemming from the various invasions launched by the Turks since 2018 to fight Syrian militias in the neighboring territory, Infobae reported.