In Major Blow to Vladimir Putin, Turkey Backs Sweden, Finland Joining NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization will now fast-track membership for Sweden and Finland after Turkey lifted its opposition to the Nordic countries joining the allies.

What Happened: On Tuesday, during the NATO summit talks in Madrid, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan agreed with his Finnish and Swedish counterparts on a series of security measures to allow the two Nordic nations to progress in their bid to join the U.S.-led alliance.

"I strongly welcome the signing of this trilateral memorandum, and I strongly welcome the constructive approach all three countries have shown during the negotiations. Finnish and Swedish membership of NATO is good for Finland and Sweden, it is good for NATO, and it is good for European security," said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the two Nordic nations overturned decades of neutrality to apply to join the alliance in mid-May, despite repeated warnings from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

While the trilateral agreement between Turkey — recently renamed to Türkiye at the United Nations — and Finland and Sweden removed a major hurdle for the Nordic countries to join NATO, their bid now will have to be approved by the member states' parliaments, a process that could take time.

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