(Istanbul) Turkey has agreed 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.
Posted at 2:56 p.m.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has obtained “full cooperation” from Finland and Sweden against Kurdish PKK fighters and their allies, the Turkish presidency announced in a statement on Tuesday evening.
“Turkey got what it wanted,” the Turkish presidency said in its statement.
The agreement was signed Tuesday evening in front of the cameras by the heads of diplomacy of the three countries concerned.
The two candidate countries are committed to “full cooperation with Turkey in the fight” against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, considered by Ankara and its Western allies as a terrorist organization, as well as against the movements affiliated with it, is he specified in this text.
Helsinki and Stockholm also pledge to “show solidarity with Turkey in the fight against terrorism in all its forms”.
Similarly, the two capitals have agreed not to “impose restrictions or embargo on defense industries”, continued the Turkish presidency.
These were Turkey’s main demands to lift its objection to NATO enlargement to Sweden and Finland.
The Turkish presidency further asserts that the two newcomers will take “concrete measures for the extradition of terrorist criminals” from their territories and for “prohibiting the fundraising and recruitment activities of the PKK and its affiliates” at home.
Finally, she welcomes the fact that the “Fetö” movement of preacher Fetullah Gülen, based in the United States and which Mr. Erdogan holds responsible for the 2016 coup attempt, is recognized as “a terrorist organization”. just like the PKK, the YPG and the others.
She sees it as “a very important step in the international dimension of Turkey’s fight” against terrorism.
The NATO countries will officially “invite” these two countries to join the Alliance on Wednesday after the lifting of the Turkish veto, announced its secretary general Jens Stoltenberg to the press in Madrid.