According to Finnish media who are privy to the discussions between Turkish President Erdogan, Finnish President Niinisto, and Swedish Prime Minister Andersson, the three leaders have come to an agreement, being dubbed a “joint tripartite document”. The document, to be presented at the Madrid Summit which begins tomorrow. After four hours of deliberation, the three leaders came to an agreement over stemming global terrorism.
According to the President of Finland in a press release:
“Today in Madrid, before the start of the NATO summit, we had an in-depth meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, supported by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
As a result of that meeting, our Foreign Ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding between our countries confirming Turkey’s support for inviting Finland and Sweden to join NATO at this week’s Madrid Summit. The concrete steps for our accession to NATO will be agreed among NATO allies over the next two days, but that decision is now imminent.
Our Memorandum of Understanding emphasizes that Finland, Sweden and Turkey are committed to giving each other full support against each other’s security threats. As we become NATO allies, this commitment will be further strengthened.
In recent weeks, Turkey has raised its concerns about the threat of terrorism. Finland has always taken these concerns seriously. Finland condemns terrorism in all its forms. As a member of NATO, Finland is fully committed to the documents and policies of NATO’s counter-terrorism work.
As we develop our co-operation in the fight against terrorism, arms exports and transfers, Finland will, of course, continue to act in accordance with its own national legislation.
I am pleased that this stage on Finland’s journey towards NATO membership has been completed. I now look forward to fruitful discussions on Finland’s role in NATO with our future allies here in Madrid.”
FROM : NATO
Turkey’s reluctance to vote the two Scandinavian nations into the alliance after the Russian invasion of Ukraine changed their strategic neutrality calculus has been the primary roadblock to their accession.
