The current NATO summit in Madrid marks a major change in the history of the Defense Alliance.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this when he and US President Joe Biden met with the press in connection with the meeting.
– We will make decisions here that will change the alliance for many years to come, Stoltenberg said.
– Can’t wait for it to happen
During the day, NATO will make a decision to invite both Sweden and Finland to become members.
– It demonstrates that NATO’s door is open, and that President Putin is not succeeding in closing it. He gets the opposite of what he wants, he wants a smaller NATO, but instead he gets Sweden and Finland into the defense alliance.
With a smile on his face, Biden said that when the heads of state from Sweden and Finland visited the White House, he was asked about Putin’s plan.
– I said that Putin looked at Finlandisation of Europe, but gets NATOization of Europe. That is the last thing he wanted, but that was exactly what had to be done to guarantee the security of Europe. And I’m looking forward to it happening.
– MEETING AGAIN: US President Joe Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Photo: Susan Walsh
–
Turkey turned
After four intensive hours of negotiations, the tangle was resolved at the NATO summit on Tuesday. Turkey will give its support to Finland and Sweden’s application to join the defense alliance. In return, Turkey gets some rewards:
- No arms embargo.
- No support for the Kurdish party PYD and its armed branch YPG. The PKK group is considered an illegal terrorist organization.
- Extradition agreements must be entered into. Requests for extradition that have already been submitted must be processed quickly
Clearly written down
The Minister of Foreign Affairs describes the negotiations and the points of agreement P1-tomorrow in Swedish Radio.
– We have agreed that Sweden and Finland will not support these organizations with anything that is about threatening Turkey’s security, such as weapons and money. Or something else that directly threatens Turkey’s security. We do not do that today either, says Linde.
– This is now clearly written down, she adds.
However, humanitarian aid to Kurds in northeastern Syria will continue.
Obliged to process extradition requests
There may also be extraditions. In the agreement, Finland and Sweden have undertaken to process extradition requests of terror suspects quickly and thoroughly. But it is the Swedish authorities who will try the terms of the extradition, Linde emphasizes.
– It is in accordance with Swedish law. The agreement with Turkey does not change this, she says.
In recent years, Sweden has not exported military equipment to Turkey.
– We have made it clear that membership in NATO means that new obligations to allies. This also applies to Turkey, says Linde.
Fast process
The historic decision to invite Sweden and Finland to join NATO will be made on Wednesday, said Secretary General Stoltenberg on his way to the second day of the Madrid Summit.
– The process has gone faster than we have ever seen so far. I do not think that any other process has taken so few weeks, from the membership application in mid-May until now, says Stoltenberg.
It will take time before all the alliance’s member states have ratified the invitation. But Stoltenberg expects it to go fairly quickly, as the Allies are ready to do so as soon as possible.
–
