Article author:
Reuters
Robin Emot and Sabine Siebold
Brussels — NATO's 30 allies will sign the Finnish and Swedish accession protocol on Tuesday and will be able to join the nuclear armed alliance once parliament ratifies it. It came to be. Decision, the most important expansion of the alliance since the 1990s.
The signature at NATO Headquarters follows the agreement with Turkey at the NATO Summit in Madrid last week, and Ankara guarantees that both countries will do more to fight terrorism. In response, we have lifted the veto right to the accession bid of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
"This is a truly historic moment," NATO Secretary-General Jason Stoltenberg said with the Foreign Ministers of both countries. "We will be even stronger as 32 countries are around the table." The
protocol allows Helsinki and Stockholm to attend NATO meetings and inform. It means better access, but not protected by NATO's defense provisions. Everything – until ratification. It can take up to a year.
At the 1997 Allied Summit in Madrid, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic were invited to participate in the first wave of several waves of NATO's eastern expansion. This is considered a Western achievement, but has offended Russia.
Moscow has repeatedly warned both countries to join NATO. On March 12, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, "There will be serious military and political implications."
Stoltenberg urged allies to promptly ratify and guarantee NATO's support to the two Nordic countries.
"The security of Finland and Sweden is important to our alliance, including during the ratification process," he said.
"Many allies have already made a clear commitment to the security of Finland and Sweden, and NATO is increasing its presence in the region, including more exercises."
Turkey's Warning
NATO's ambassador and Stoltemberg stood together for a photo with a protocol signed by the Swedish and Finnish foreign ministers before being applauded. rice field.
"Thank you for your support! Now the ratification process by each ally is about to begin," Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde said on Twitter.
However, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned at the NATO summit last Thursday that Finland and Sweden must first keep their promise to Turkey.
After a few weeks of diplomacy, Prime Minister Erdogan and his Finnish and Swedish counterparts can overcome Turkey's veto that Ankara imposed in May due to fears of terrorism. Agreed on measures to do so.
According to the signed memorandum, Finland and Sweden are Kurdish militants PKK and YPG groups, or a network of US-based priests Fetofuller Gulen, which Ankara has named a terrorist organization. Promised not to support. (Report by Robin Emmott and Sabine Siebold, edited by William Maclean)
