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Turkey has lifted its opposition to NATO members Sweden and Finland, Secretary-General Jens Stortemberg confirmed on Tuesday.
A significant breakthrough came during this week’s leaders’ summit in Madrid, as Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine obscures Europe.
“”[W]An agreement has been reached to pave the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO. ”
The war in Ukraine has caused Sweden and Finland to abandon their long-standing misalignment and apply for NATO membership. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blocked the move because of the Nordic support for a group of Kurdish rebels that Turkey considers to be terrorists.
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Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said leaders from the three countries had signed a joint agreement after the meeting on Tuesday.
Turkey said it “gets what it wants,” including “fighting full cooperation …” with rebel groups.
At the opening ceremony of the important summit, Stortemberg said he would draw a blueprint for the alliance “in a more dangerous and unpredictable world.”
“To be able to defend in a more dangerous world, we need to invest more in defense,” Stoltemberg said.
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President Biden praised the agreement, saying, “It is an important step towards NATO invited to Finland and Sweden, which is a great way to strengthen the alliance, strengthen collective security and start the summit. It will be. ”
The February 24 invasion of Moscow destroyed the security of Europe and returned the city’s artillery and bloody ground battles to the continent. NATO, which began to focus on terrorism and other non-state threats, had to confront its hostile Russia again.
Turkish, Swedish and Finnish diplomats and leaders have previously engaged in fierce negotiations to break the deadlock against opposition to Turkey’s expansion. On Tuesday, before the agreement was announced, leaders from the three countries met with Stoltemberg for more than two hours.
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Prime Minister Erdogan has criticized Sweden and Finland’s loose approach to groups that Ankara considers a national security threat, such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its expansion into Syria. US support for Syrian Kurdish fighters in the fight against ISIS has infuriated Turkey for years.
Meanwhile, Turkey has called for Finland and Sweden to hand over individuals and lift arms restrictions imposed after Turkey’s military invasion of northeastern Syria in 2019.
By ending the deadlock, NATO leaders can focus on their key issues: increasingly unpredictable and aggressive Russia.
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Stoltenberg said on Monday that NATO’s allies agreed to increase the strength of the alliance’s swift reaction to an army of 40,000 to 300,000 almost eight times at the summit. The army is based in its home country, but is dedicated to certain countries on the eastern side of NATO where the Alliance plans to increase its inventory of equipment and ammunition.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.