NATO on Wednesday officially invited Finland and Sweden to become members of the military alliance.
The announcement came as part of the Madrid summit declaration following the meeting of NATO heads of state and government.
“Today, we have decided to invite Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO, and agreed to sign the Accession Protocols,” the NATO members said.
“In any accession to the Alliance, it is of vital importance that the legitimate security concerns of all Allies are properly addressed.”
It also “welcomed the conclusion of the trilateral memorandum” between Türkiye, Finland, and Sweden.
Türkiye, Finland, and Sweden signed a memorandum Tuesday on the Nordic countries’ bids for NATO membership following four-way talks in Madrid.
The signed memorandum addresses Türkiye’s concerns about arms exports and the fight against terrorism.
Sweden and Finland formally applied to join the alliance last month, a decision spurred by Russia’s war on Ukraine.
But Türkiye, a longstanding member of the alliance, voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.
Meanwhile, the NATO secretary-general on Wednesday thanked Türkiye, Finland and Sweden for accepting his invitation “to engage in negotiations to find a united way forward.”
Speaking at a press conference at the NATO summit in Madrid, Jens Stoltenberg called the trilateral agreement between Türkiye, Finland and Sweden that will address Ankara’s security concerns “good” for the three countries, as well as NATO.
“Today, NATO leaders took the historic decision to invite Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO. The agreement concluded last night by Türkiye, Finland and Sweden paved the way for this decision,” he said.
“The decision … demonstrates that NATO’s door is open,” said the alliance’s chief, adding: “It demonstrates that the Russian President Putin did not succeed in closing NATO’s door.”
Inviting Finland and Sweden for membership also shows that NATO respects the sovereign rights of every nation to choose its own path, Stoltenberg added.