Nato member Turkey has agreed to support Sweden and Finland's membership of the alliance.

 

It had initially opposed the Nordic countries' bids to join.

 

Turkey was angered by what it saw as their willingness to host Kurdish militants. Sweden and Finland could not join Nato without Turkey's support.

 

Russia strongly opposes the two states joining and has used the expansion of the West's defensive military alliance as a pretext for its war in Ukraine.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61971858

 

Sweden and Finland formally invited to join NATO as alliance tells Russia to withdraw from Ukraine 'immediately'

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

 

NATO has promised to "defend every inch" of its territory as it revealed a major overhaul of its strategy, with a "deterrence and defence posture" based on a mix of "nuclear, conventional and missile defence capabilities"

 

NATO has confirmed that Sweden and Finland will be formally invited to join the military alliance as it announced a "new strategic concept".

 

It also warned Russia that it must "immediately" withdraw from Ukraine, condemning the conflict in the "strongest possible terms".

 

It added that Moscow's invasion of its neighbour "gravely undermines international security and stability" - and is a "blatant violation of international law".

 

"Ukraine can count on us for as long as it takes," Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.

 

(more)

 

https://news.sky.com/story/nato-vows-to-defend-every-inch-of-its-territory-as-it-overhauls-strategy-and-warns-russia-to-withdraw-from-ukraine-12642490

 

 

 

 

NATO deal between Turkey, Sweden and Finland brings home wins for Erdogan — and a possible F-16 breakthrough

...

Turkey ‘got what it wanted’

The breakthrough with Turkey followed four hours of talks and weeks of deliberations and debate, culminating in a trilateral agreement between Turkey, Sweden and Finland. The agreement involved the Nordic countries lifting arms embargoes they had previously imposed on Turkey, toughening their laws against Kurdish militant activists that Ankara deems to be terrorists, and addressing Turkish extradition requests for suspected Kurdish fighters.

...

An F-16 deal in the works?

Erdogan will also get a one-on-one meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden during the NATO summit in Madrid, in what many suspect was another sweetener to the deal. He’s expected to push for a U.S. sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, which the Biden administration said was an issue separate from the NATO deal.

It’s not clear whether the F-16 sale will go through, but many observers expect it to do so as a gesture of unity following Erdogan’s acceptance of the new NATO applicants.

 

(more)

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/29/nato-deal-between-turkey-sweden-and-finland-brings-wins-for-erdogan.html