By Janet Ekstract
İSTANBUL- On Tuesday, in a surprise turnaround, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dropped his objections to Finland and Sweden’s NATO candidacy, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said.
In a formal statement to the press, the Finnish leader said that a joint memorandum was signed between Türkiye, Finland and Sweden at the NATO Summit in Madrid. The memorandum is an agreement between the three nations to protect each other’s security as Niinisto said, “to extend their full support to each other’s security.”
Niinisto commented: “The concrete steps of our accession to NATO will be agreed by the NATO allies in the next two days, but that decision is now imminent.” Both Finland and Sweden’s NATO bids were a top priority at the NATO summit.
Meanwhile, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg expressed confidence that after the signing of the tripartite memorandum that the NATO bids will move ahead. As Stoltenberg commented: “I’mpleased to announce that we now have an agreement that paves the way for Sweden and Finland to join NATO. Türkiye, Finland and Sweden have signed a memorandum that addresses Türkiye’s concerns including around arms exports and the fight against terrorism.”
The NATO chief added that on Wednesday at the NATO Summit, allied leaders will decide on whether to accept Finland and Sweden’s bids to join NATO. If they are accepted, Stoltenberg said the next step would be a ratification process.
