Türkiye, Sweden, Finland sign memorandum on Nordic countries' NATO bids

UPDATES WITH SIGNING OF MEMORANDUM

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

MADRID (AA) – Türkiye, Finland, and Sweden on Tuesday signed a memorandum on the Nordic countries’ NATO bids following four-way talks in Madrid.

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto, and Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson met to discuss the issue and Ankara’s related concerns.

Sweden and Finland formally applied to join the alliance last month, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine.

But Türkiye, a longstanding member of the alliance, voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terror groups.

Stoltenberg has constantly said that Türkiye has “legitimate concerns related to their fight against the PKK terrorist group and other organizations,” and that the PKK is considered a terror organization by NATO, the EU, as well as Finland and Sweden.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.​​​​​​​