The memorandum of understanding signed tonight in Madrid, with the opening of the annual NATO summit in the city, paves the way for Sweden and Finland to join the organization in the future. Mediated by the Secretary General of the United States, Janes Stoltenberg. So far, the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan Accused the Nordic countries of “supporting terrorism”, among other things by giving asylum to elements from the Kurdish PKK party.
Recall that under NATO law, in order to attach new members to the Alliance, the unanimous consent of all existing members is required. Turkey, for fear of the Soviet Union, joined the Alliance as early as 1952 – three years after its founding. To advance its interests, and in this case – narrowing the steps of Kurdish underground activists and supporters in Sweden and Finland.
The development came after elements affiliated with the Kurdish underground in Sweden and Finland tried to thwart progress between the parties, using parades waving Kurdish underground flags and photos of their leader, Abdullah Oglan. In recent days, however, real action has been taken against those activists – including on social media. “Finland and Sweden have agreed on full cooperation with Turkey in the fight against the PKK terrorist organization, relinquishing its derivatives,” the Turkish National Communications Bureau said.
In addition to the PKK, the Memorandum of Understanding also deals with the activities of FETÖ, the movement of Fathullah Golan – the Turkish religious leader who lives in the US and is accused of conducting behind the scenes of the attempted coup in Turkey in July 2016. The document states that Finland and Sweden will not provide support “Branches of the PKK, and of the FETÖ, and will oppose terrorism of any kind.”
The President of Finland, who is in Madrid, met with Erdogan together with the Prime Minister of Sweden, and the summit apparently led to an agreement. It is not yet clear whether the policies of the two countries towards the PKK and other opposition elements will change. A statement issued by the Finnish media said that “the three countries take the fight against terrorism very seriously” and that they are “committed to a great extent to mutual security”. The president told the media that Turkey would now support his country’s candidacy and Sweden’s candidacy. The meeting between the three lasted about four hours longer than planned.
The Russian invasion changed public opinion in Finland
The agreement is a successful opening to the 30 member states of NATO, which will begin tonight and last until Thursday. No other member state opposes joining, which should be a significant force multiplier for NATO. Finland has a border longer than 1,700 kilometers with Russia, and the decision to join stems from a sharp change in public opinion in the country, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.
This development took place on the very first day that Russian President Vladimir Putin left Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. He arrived today in the capital of Tajikistan, Dushanbe, where he met with local President Amumali Rahmon, who in turn spoke with great pride about the expanding trade between the two countries. It is not inconceivable that Putin’s response to Ankara’s withdrawal from the veto on the accession of the Scandinavian countries to the alliance will be heard tomorrow – when the President of Russia will attend the Conference of the Caspian Sea States to be held in the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat. On the fringes of that summit he will meet with his Iranian counterpart, Ibrahim Raisi.
NATO Secretary-General Jannes Stoltenberg: “I am proud to announce that Turkey, Sweden and Finland have reached an agreement that has paved the way for them to join the Alliance.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had obtained in writing exactly the commitments he demanded from Finland and Sweden. For him, this is a significant step, since in the coming months he is expected to announce the early elections for the presidency and parliament in Turkey. The same election is scheduled for June 18, 2023, but under Turkey’s constitution – in order for Erdogan to even run for another term, he will have to announce their advancement.
Additional points from the memorandum of understanding:
● Establishment of a joint committee of the countries that will deal with coordination on legal, intelligence and security issues
● Finland and Sweden will respond to Turkey’s extradition requests, against the background of terrorist crimes
● The three countries have established consistent coordination between all government agencies, including law, enforcement, intelligence, as well as strengthening the fight against terrorism and organized crime.
● Turkey expresses its support for NATO’s open door policy, and encourages invitation at the Madrid Conference to join Finland and Sweden into NATO
● Turkey, Finland and Sweden confirm that there is no arms embargo between the countries