Turkey dropped veto for Nato enlargement after 'constructive' talks

Ankara agrees to Sweden and Finland's applications to join western alliance

From left: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, US President Joe Biden, and Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Nato summit in Madrid, Spain. AFP

Turkey’s withdrawal of its veto of Finland and Sweden’s applications to join Nato was mainly a result of a “constructive” approach taken by the Nordic states, an alliance official told The National on Wednesday.

The weeks-long process that tested the western alliance’s unity against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ended on Tuesday night as its annual summit was about to begin in Madrid.

“It was a process that was going on for a while,” the official said.

“We think what really mattered was that Finland and Sweden took a constructive approach and they both accepted some amendments to their domestic legislation.”

The main development for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was that “they both accepted to condemn activities of terror groups in Turkey.”

“For Nato this was a reasonable ask,” said the official, adding that Turkey is an “ally that has been targeted by terror attacks over the years”.

US President Joe Biden speaks at a news conference on the final day of the Nato summit in Madrid. AP

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds a news conference. PA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the final day of the Nato summit. AP

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Joe Biden shake hands as Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson look on at a Nato summit in Madrid. Reuters

Heads of state of Nato member countries and their spouses pose for a group photo during a visit to the Prado Museum, in Madrid. AFP

French president Emmanuel Macron, right, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during the Prado Museum visit. AP

Mr Biden takes a selfie with Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela and his wife Lydia Abela as they visit the Prado Museum. AP

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the first lady of France, Brigitte Macron, right, and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo's wife Annik Penders have a conversation at the museum. AP

Spanish police stand in front of protesters during an anti-Nato demonstration near Tirso de Molina square in Madrid. AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears on a giant screen as he delivers a statement at the start of the first plenary session of the Nato summit. AFP

World leaders pose for a photo during the summit. Reuters

US President Joe Biden, left, and Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. AP

Maria Begona Gomez, wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the first Lady of Lithuania, Diana Nausediene, first lady of Malta, Lydia Abela, and Gauthier Destenay, the husband of Luxembourg's Prime Minister, before a visit to the royal site of San Idelfonso in Segovia. EPA

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Jens Stoltenberg, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finland's President Sauli Niinisto, Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde pose for a picture after signing an agreement in Madrid. AP

King Felipe VI of Spain addresses leaders during a dinner at the Royal Palace in Madrid. Reuters

Mr Johnson meets Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. PA

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Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia greet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, during a royal reception for heads of governments and states. EPA

King Felipe VI, left, Mr Sanchez, second left and Mr Macron before the dinner. AP

Nato leaders pose for a 'family photo' with King Felipe and Queen Letizia in Madrid. Reuters

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, left, with Mr Biden and Mr Macron. EPA

Mr Biden, left, and King Felipe arrive for a meeting at the Royal Palace in Madrid. Reuters

Mr Johnson talks to journalists on his plane during a flight from Germany – where he was attending the G7 summit – to the Nato summit in the Spanish capital. PA

Mr Erdogan, second left, meets Mr Stoltenberg, Mr Niinisto of Finland and Ms Andersson of Sweden before the summit. Reuters

Mr Biden shakes hands with Prime Minister Sanchez of Spain at the Palace of Moncloa, in Madrid. AFP

Mr Erdogan, centre, arrives at the Torreon air base in Madrid. AP

Mr Sanchez, right, speaks with Mr Stoltenberg before the summit. EPA

US first lady Jill Biden, centre left, and Spain's Queen Letizia speak with a family during a visit to a reception centre for Ukrainian refugees in Madrid. AP

Spanish police patrol outside the Ifema convention centre before the Nato summit in Madrid. EPA

Mr Sanchez and his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern hold the jerseys of their national football teams during a meeting at Moncloa Palace. EPA

Finland's President Niinisto speaks during a briefing in Madrid before the Nato summit. Reuters

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media after arriving at Torrejon Airbase in Madrid. EPA

Spanish police officers control traffic on the Spain-France border in Irun. Reuters

Mr Stoltenberg speaks at a press conference to preview the Nato summit at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. AFP

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US first lady Jill Biden waves on arrival at Torrejon air base in Madrid. Reuters

Mr Erdogan met US President Joe Biden on Wednesday on the sidelines of the summit to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Nato's enlargement.

On Tuesday, the three states signed a memorandum of understanding and Ankara received full pledges from the applicant states to address its security concerns.

They include restrictions on Kurdish groups, such as the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which took up arms against Turkey in 1984.

Ankara has raised concerns that Sweden has been harbouring PKK members, but Stockholm said that was not the case.

An additional agreement was that Sweden and Finland would lift their restrictions on selling weapons to Turkey.

The Turkish presidency statement on Tuesday said the four-way agreement meant “full co-operation with Turkey in the fight against the PKK and its affiliates”.

A stronger Nato is in Turkey’s interests and in principle Ankara had no issues with Finnish and Swedish entry into the western alliance, Ziya Meral, senior fellow, at the Royal United Services Institute think tank in London, told The National.

“Ankara understandably sought to use this historic leverage to get particularly Sweden compromise on certain concerns. Clearly, Ankara achieved a good amount in this process,” Mr Meral said.

Turkey faced increasing pressure from Nato members not to block the enlargement process, he said.

“These come at a time when Erdogan government is recalibrating its policies and seeking to ease tensions with a broad range of countries, including the United States,” Mr Meral said.

Nato and the US played a crucial role in enabling Turkey to lift its veto, Galip Dalay, associate fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House told The National.

“From the Nato point of view, it was a very important summit, especially after Ukraine, tNato needed to present a unified position in the face of Russian aggression,” Mr Dalay said.

“In this respect, the symbolic importance of unity was really important for all roles and that’s why there was more of the ability to compromise,” he said.

Mr Dalay said that the process is still in its first stage and there might be some “bumps on the road” until the two states are formally in the alliance.

What is in the memorandum?

The 10-article memorandum addresses all of Turkey’s objections and promises to establish a permanent mechanism to monitor implementation.

The agreement was announced hours before the opening of a NATO summit in Madrid that aims to send a strong message of support to Kyiv and condemnation of Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Most significantly, Finland and Sweden promised “to not provide support” to the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia that Ankara considers an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party. The group, known by its acronym PKK, has waged a decades-long Kurdish insurgency inside Turkey.

By signing the agreement, the two Nordic countries “confirm” that the PKK is a terror organisation. It is already listed as such by the United States and the European Union, which includes Sweden and Finland.