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NATO member Turkey has agreed to not object to Sweden and Finland applying to join the bloc.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Tuesday that they had reached an agreement “that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO” on the sidelines during the first day of the three-day NATO summit in Madrid.
Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed a trilateral memorandum on the first day of the summit, expressing “unwavering solidarity and cooperation in the fight against terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations”.
Extending “full support to Turkey against threats to its national security”, the two countries will “not provide support” to Syrian Kurdish groups People’s Protection Units and Democratic Unity Party (PYD), whom Turkey believes to be connected to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and to what Turkey calls “FETÖ”, or the Fethullahist Terrorist Organisation named after Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen who had followers in key positions throughout key Turkish institutions before falling out of favour with the government. The group now stands accused of orchestrating Turkey’s failed military coup of 2015.
Continuing, Article 5 of the memorandum reads:
“Finland and Sweden confirm that the PKK is a proscribed terrorist organisation. Finland and Sweden commit to prevent activities of the PKK and all other terrorist organisations and their extensions, as well as activities by individuals in affiliated and inspired groups or networks linked to these terrorist organisations. Turkiye, Finland and Sweden have agreed to step up cooperation to prevent the activities of these terrorist groups. Finland and Sweden reject the goals of these terrorist organisations.”
The agreement also cites recent amendments to Finland’s anti-terrorism laws. The country had extended the participation in the terrorist activity clause as well as separately criminalising public incitement to terrorist offences in January 2022, ahead of the current Russian invasion in Ukraine.
Shortly after the announcement, Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö said Finland “naturally continues to operate according to its own national legislation.
Sweden confirmed an upcoming amendment to its Terrorist Offences Act to come into force on 1 July. “The government is preparing further tightening of counter-terrorism legislation,” it said.
The wording in Sweden’s defence exports framework will also be changed to mention NATO allies, ending any embargos against Turkey.
The two Nordic countries agreed to “expeditiously and thoroughly” address Turkey’s requests for extradition, and to take into account information, evidence and intelligence provided by Turkey, and to support Turkey’s participation in European defence policy initiatives including Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) projects.
The Foreign Ministers of the three countries, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Pekka Haavisto and Ann Linde, signed the memorandum.
Turkey had argued that the anti-terrorism laws of the two countries were too lax and that they had effectively become safe havens for Kurds fleeing Turkey and Iran in particular. Sweden has a small but vibrant Kurdish community, a significant portion of whom are political refugees and asylum seekers, and several Swedes of Kurdish origin at various levels in politics.
