Article authors:
Reuters
Robin Emot and Humeirapamuk
Madrid — NATO leaders urge Turkish President Taipu Erdogan to refuse to join the Finnish and Swedish military alliance To do. A three-day summit on Tuesday as the West strives to signal Russia and China of their determination.
The Madrid rally behind the Russian war in Ukraine is crucial to the transatlantic bond after the failure in Afghanistan and the internal discord in the days of former US President Donald Trump. It will be a moment. Washington from the Nuclear Alliance.
Often difficult negotiations between organizations are still underway, diplomats said, but leaders also provided more military aid to Ukraine and jointly. Efforts to increase China's military power, hoping to agree to increase defense spending and solidify its new determination, and keep more troops on standby to protect the Baltic states.
Spain, where the King hosts a supper for leaders, promotes further NATO focus on the southern side to deal with immigrants and militant groups in the Sahel region of Africa doing.
Leaders from Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea are expected to participate in part of the summit. This is part of the United States' broader strategy to aim for a more aggressive western presence in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China.
In a speech last week, NATO Secretary-General Jason Stoltenberg said, "We are always working hard to protect every corner of the Allied territory from all threats. I will do it. "
British and US officials advised to oppose the Baltic States' request for permanent multinational forces in the region, but the summit was a promising and swift reinforcement. Is likely to settle for a compromise.
Germany will have more troops ready to defend Lithuania if Russia tries to occupy NATO territory and Britain is expected to do the same against Estonia. I have already stated that I will place it. ..
TURKEY VETO
Since the former Soviet Republic is not a member of NATO, NATO, which was created in 1949 to counter the threat of the Soviet Union, is a treaty to protect Ukraine. I have no obligation.
However, Russia's President Vladimir Putin's invasion on February 24 is that Ukraine and Ukraine are officially candidates for joining the European Union, with neutral countries Finland and Sweden aiming to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Caused a geopolitical change.
If accepted, Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO will bring about an expansion of the alliance that Russian leaders have tried to prevent.
"I think I'll send an important message to Putin, and I think it will actually significantly strengthen the alliance," he said.
But Turkey is also testing its unity, angry that Helsinki and Stockholm support the Kurdish militants and the arms embargo on Ankara.
Turkish government officials involved in the talks between the three countries and NATO's Stoltenberg reach an agreement at the summit, saying Sweden and Finland must first address Turkey's concerns. I told Reuters that it would be difficult.
"There was a meeting, but unfortunately the measures we expected were not taken," officials said.
Sweden has set up a process for ongoing consultations, diplomats said. However, two senior NATO diplomats said the dispute was not about technical benchmarks, but about politics.
Prime Minister Erdogan's stance has proven popular at home as he seeks to challenge US and European priorities before the June 2023 presidential election. In recent weeks he has threatened more military operations in northern Syria, agitated tensions with fellow NATO members Greece, and refused to join Western sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian war.
"I think there is almost no chance that this problem will be solved at the Madrid Summit," said Soner Kagaputai, a Turkish analyst at the Washington Institute, a US think tank.
US President Joe Biden was able to meet with Prime Minister Erdogan in the margin of the NATO summit to drive progress between Finland and Sweden, led by Madrid.
However, Kagaputai added that Prime Minister Erdogan could take advantage of this situation and hold a sharp election in November prior to the official vote in June 2023. (Additional report by Sabine Siebold, Andrea Shalal, Belen Carreno, Ankara Jonathan Spicer and Orhan Coskun, edited by Nick Macfie)