Gathered at a summit in Madrid, the NATO countries will officially “invite” Sweden and Finland on Wednesday to join the Alliance after the lifting of the Turkish veto on their accession on Tuesday evening, the NATO Secretary General announced in front of the press. “I am delighted to announce that we have an agreement which paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO” and which addresses “Turkey’s concerns over arms exports and the fight against terrorism,” added Jens Stoltenberg.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has secured “full cooperation” from Finland and Sweden against Kurdish PKK fighters and their allies, the Turkish Presidency announced in a statement late Tuesday. Thus, Turkey gave its agreement to the entry into NATO of these two Nordic countries after more than three hours of discussions Tuesday in Madrid, on the sidelines of the summit of the Atlantic Alliance.
Turkey has not made “any particular request for concessions from the Americans” to lift its opposition to the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO, a senior White House official said on Tuesday. The United States has “offered nothing” to Ankara, he insisted in an interview with reporters. The agreement reached in Madrid between Turkey, Finland and Sweden on the enlargement of the military alliance will give “a powerful impetus” to Western unity, estimated this senior American official, who did not wish be identified.
The accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO will make the Alliance “stronger and more secure”, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reacted on Tuesday evening. It’s “fantastic news as we begin our NATO summit,” he said on Twitter.
Fantastic news as we kick off the NATO Summit. Sweden and Finland’s membership will make our brilliant alliance stronger and safer. https://t.co/l7zN5Ez1EV
