Turkey agrees to support Sweden, Finland NATO bids

Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey signed a memorandum with Sweden and Finland late Tuesday over both Nordic countries’ bids to become members of NATO. Turkish state media reported that the three countries will fight together against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its offshoots. 

Sweden and Finland recently made bids to enter NATO following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Both Scandinavian countries are already close partners of NATO but by joining it they would gain the support of 30 member countries if attacked. NATO makes its decisions by consensus, meaning that both countries require the blessing of all 30 countries. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Madrid on Tuesday to attend a NATO summit. He met with his Swedish and Finnish counterparts. The three countries signed a memorandum in which Turkey will support both Nordic countries’ bids to enter the security alliance in return for their support and coordination in certain fields, especially the fight against the PKK, according to Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency (AA).   

The three countries will establish Permanent Joint Mechanism to implement the memorandum. It includes law, intelligence, and security officials. “Finland, Sweden will address Türkiye's pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects expeditiously,” AA from the memorandum. 

Finish President Sauli Niinisto said in a statement that Turkey has agreed to support both bids during NATO’s summit this week. 

“Our joint memorandum underscores the commitment of Finland, Sweden and Turkiye [Turkey] to extend their full support against threats to each other’s security. Us becoming NATO Allies will further strengthen this commitment,” he said.  

According to the memorandum. Sweden and Finland will not provide any support to the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military arm, People's Protection Units (YPG), which rule northeast Syria (Rojava). 

US President Joe Biden congratulated the three countries for reaching the agreement, describing the move as a "crucial step" towards the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland.