The joint memorandum underscores the commitment of Finland, Sweden and Turkey “to extend their full support to each other’s security threats,” Niinistö said.
“The concrete steps of our NATO membership will be agreed by NATO allies in the next two days, but this decision is now imminent,” he added. The two nations formally applied to join the security alliance in May, spurred on by Russia ‘s invasion of Ukraine. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly stated that Turkey will not support the candidacy, accusing the two countries of hosting members of the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, also known as the PKK, which Turkey considers a terrorist organization. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said he was “confident” that Finland and Sweden would be able to join NATO successfully after the signing of the tripartite memorandum of understanding. “I am pleased to announce that we now have an agreement paving the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO. Turkey, Finland and Sweden have signed a memorandum addressing Turkey ‘s concerns, including arms exports. “The fight against terrorism,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Madrid after the memorandum was signed.
On Wednesday, Allied leaders will then decide whether to invite Finland and Sweden to join NATO, he said, adding that a ratification process should take place in all NATO capitals after that decision.
The NATO leader said that after the signing of this tripartite memorandum, however, he was “confident” that Sweden and Finland joining NATO was “something that will happen”.
US President Joe Biden and Erdogan spoke on the phone before the summit and are expected to meet on Wednesday, Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. “We expect that at some point tomorrow, President Erdogan and President Biden will have the opportunity to talk,” Sullivan told Air Force One, but added that details of the meeting were still being worked out. “There is no set time or framework for the meeting, but they will have the opportunity to spend some time together,” he said, noting that they would discuss “strategic issues” between the two countries. Earlier on Tuesday, Erdogan told reporters that he had spoken by telephone with Biden before leaving for Madrid and said that Sweden and Finland’s applications for NATO membership would be taken into account, Erdogan said. “The PKK will be on our agenda in my bilateral meetings. We will explain our position in Sweden and Finland once again. The PKK should be prevented from operating in these countries,” he said. “They are going to become members of NATO, they have to address Turkey’s security concerns. We do not want dry words, we want results.”

A crucial summit

Biden arrived in Spain on Tuesday for a NATO summit that is expected to significantly boost the alliance’s defensive stance at its eastern extremity, including raising troop levels and placing heavy equipment as Western leaders think about the next in Ukraine. The announcements expected during the two-day summit will tighten the collective defense as Russia invades Ukraine in its fifth month, including escalating the number of troops on high alert to 300,000 – a sevenfold increase. Since the Cold War, NATO has not made such significant improvements in its stance. The announcements come amid growing concerns that the West’s determination to deal with Russia could soon be broken amid rising energy prices and reduced interest in the escalating conflict. “The alliance is strengthening its position, addressing threats and strengthening our position against threats from the east and challenges from the south. NATO is focused on all directions and areas on land, air and sea,” Biden said. shortly after. arrived. Speaking on behalf of the Spanish Prime Minister, Biden plans in detail to add two American destroyers based at the Rota Naval Station in Spain, bringing the total number of American destroyers based there to six. “As I said before the war, if Putin attacked Ukraine, the United States would strengthen our power in Europe and respond to the reality of a new European security environment,” he said. “Together, the new commitments will be an impressive demonstration of Allied unity and determination and NATO’s 360-degree approach to our security,” he said. Biden and his fellow leaders want to change the momentum in Ukraine, where Russia continues to make gains in the East. At the same time, rising energy prices have put pressure on leaders to find a solution to the conflict. On Tuesday, his government announced new sanctions in Moscow, including the implementation of a ban on new imports of Russian gold agreed at the G7 summit. A rocket attack on a shopping mall in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk on Monday was a reminder of Russia’s continuing barbarism. “Russia’s attack on civilians in a shopping mall is fierce. We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people,” Biden wrote on Twitter. “As demonstrated at the G7 Summit, the United States, together with our allies and partners, will continue to hold Russia accountable for such atrocities and to support Ukraine’s defense.” Biden arrives at NATO summit after concluding final meetings with G7 leaders in Germany, where the crisis in Ukraine has dominated talks between the leaders. The merger was expected to lead to agreements on sanctions and an effort to limit the price of Russian oil. Biden met on Tuesday morning with German Chancellor Olaf Solz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Bavaria, Germany. The group has played a key role in orchestrating the Western response to the war in Ukraine, although there are differences of opinion as to how and when Russian President Vladimir Putin should be involved in negotiations to end the war.

New announcements for food security

G7 leaders announced funding of up to $ 5 billion for global food security on Tuesday, in the latest effort to address the global effects of the war in Ukraine, more than half of which will come from the United States. As part of Tuesday’s announcement, the Biden government is pledging $ 2.76 billion “to support efforts in more than 47 countries and regional organizations,” including $ 2 billion in immediate humanitarian aid and $ 760 million in short-term and short-term “Medium-term food aid to help improve the resilience and productivity of food systems around the world, especially in vulnerable areas,” a senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday. The White House estimates that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent destruction of agricultural equipment and the embargo on grain shipments will push up to 40 million people into poverty in 2022. The Biden government has launched a series of suspension measures to move wheat and prevent a “catastrophic food shortage” in parts of the world. “Obviously Putin’s actions were at the core, and the thing from which you can draw a straight line on all the food security vulnerabilities we see around the world – his actions have strangled food and agricultural production. “using the food as a weapon of war,” the official said. “This is just one part of our efforts and we are committed to doing what we can, both as the United States and as the G7, to work with partners around the world to address this.” The US commitment will come from the second supplementary aid package for Ukraine approved by lawmakers last month, and is expected to be disbursed and delivered by the end of the financial year. According to the official, the leaders also discussed “a number of approaches” to bring Ukrainian grain to market and address global shortages, adding that the issue was “at the top of the list of priorities that leaders have in dealing with the challenge of food security. “ Tuesday’s announcement comes on the last day of the G7 summit in Schloss Elmau, Germany, where leaders are also expected to condemn the damage caused by “opaque industrial practices that distort the Chinese market,” in a statement concluding the summit meeting.

The crucial NATO summit kicks off on Tuesday

The president arrived in Madrid this afternoon for a summit where leaders are expected to adopt a new “strategic vision” outlining the defense alliance’s goals for the next decade. These priorities include “building resilience to transnational threats, including cyberspace and climate change” and “deepening partnerships with democratic partners in Europe and Asia to strengthen a rule-based international order,” the White House said. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that the alliance would increase the number of troops on high alert to 300,000, a sevenfold increase that reflects the hard-fought war in Ukraine.
Stoltenberg said Russia had withdrawn from any partnership with NATO and the group was obliged to respond. “They chose confrontation over dialogue. We are sorry about that – but of course, then we have to face that reality,” he said. Biden described NATO as “united and galvanized” on Tuesday, but acknowledged the rising cost of the tough war in Ukraine during a brief photo shoot with King Felipe VI of Spain. “We are ready to face the threat of Russian aggression because there is honestly no other choice,” he said, calling the Russian invasion of Ukraine “the most significant abuse of power since World War II.” “Some people thought it was unlikely to happen again, but it did. But we responded. We responded unanimously,” he said. “When we agreed that we would respond, we recognized that it would have some cost to our people, the imposition of sanctions on Russia.”