Brussels, (EFE).- Turkey, Sweden and Finland recognized “progress” this Thursday in the process for these two Scandinavian countries to become full members of NATO and that Ankara continues to block for the moment, the Alliance reported in a statement following a meeting in Brussels.
“All the participants were pleased with the progress made,” said the organization at the end of the meeting with representatives of these three countries sponsored by the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.
The meeting was part of the permanent joint mechanism established by the trilateral memorandum signed on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid last June.
It was the third meeting of these characteristics and, as agreed, they will hold another one before the allied summit in Vilnius in July, in order to “continue cooperation in this format.”
“Finland and Sweden have taken unprecedented steps to address Turkey’s legitimate security concerns. The time has come for all allies to conclude the ratification process and welcome Finland and Sweden as full members of the Alliance before the next NATO Summit in Vilnius,” Stoltenberg said at the start of the meeting, according to the statement transmitted by the organization.
Waiting for Turkey and Hungary
Of the 30 allies, only Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify the entry of Finland and Sweden, which since last June have the status of “invited” to join the Alliance and can thus participate in its activities, although they are not legally covered by the principle of collective defense under the NATO umbrella if they come under attack.
Turkish, Finnish and Swedish representatives today discussed the concrete steps that have been taken to implement the trilateral memorandum.
As agreed in that text, there should be no restrictions on arms exports between them, anti-terror cooperation has been significantly strengthened, and Sweden is now in the process of tightening anti-terror legislation, including against the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). , the Kurdish guerrillas from Turkey.
“The parties agreed that the decision to invite Finland and Sweden to become NATO members was historic. They also agreed that the rapid ratification of Finland and Sweden would be in everyone’s interest, and that their entry will strengthen the Alliance,” the statement stressed.