La Turkey has decided to withdraw the veto on the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO. Ankara signed a memorandum of understanding with Stockholm and Helsinki after "getting what it asked for" from the two countries. This was communicated by the Turkish presidency, specifying that it had obtained the "full cooperation" of Sweden and Finland against the PKK, the political and paramilitary organization from southeastern Turkey that fights for the independence of Kurdistan. The Turkish government had opposed the accession of the two northern European countries, asking Helsinki and Stockholm to hand over the Kurdish fighters hosted in their territories, which Ankara considers affiliated with the PKK and therefore as terrorists.
The points of the memorandum between Türkiye, Sweden and Finland
According to the Turkish network trt, “Sweden and Finland have promised Turkey concrete steps to the extradition of terrorist criminals”, in addition to the removal of restrictions in the field of defense industry and a commitment to "prevent terrorist propaganda against Turkey" in the two countries.
According instead to the Turkish state agency Anadolu, the memorandum states that “Sweden and Finland will face quickly le deportation requests o extradition pending regarding suspected terrorists" by Turkey, will not provide support to the Syrian Kurdish militias Ypg and Pkk as well as to the network affiliated to the Turkish Islamic preacher based in the US Fethullah Gulen, held by Ankara responsible for the attempted coup in Turkey in 2016. A joint committee between Turkey, Sweden and Finland of Justice, Defense, Intelligence and Security officials will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the agreement.
Stoltenberg: "With Sweden and Finland in NATO we are stronger"
“NATO's open door policy is a success: we have shown that we know how to solve problems through negotiations; with the entry of Sweden and Finland into the alliance we will all be safer”, commented the NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, underlining that the details of the memorandum will soon be signed, including the extradition agreement, which will respect European standards.
Stoltenberg then added that NATO leaders at this point will officially invite Sweden and Finland during the summit, a step that will pave the way for ratification by all allies. "With their entry the whole picture of the Baltic-Scandinavian chessboard will be strengthened", added the secretary, according to which the memorandum signed by Ankara, Helsinki and Stockholm "addresses Turkey's concerns, including arms exports, and the fight against terrorism". Stoltenberg attended the meeting with the leaders of the three countries on the eve of NATO summit in Madrid which led to the signing of the memorandum.
Biden: "The agreement strengthens our collective security"
“Congratulations to Finland, Sweden and Turkey on signing a trilateral memorandum, a vital step towards NATO's invitation to Finland and Sweden, which will strengthen our Alliance and our collective security, and a great way to start the Summit” , writes US President Joe Biden on Twitter.
