Brussels, June 29 (UNI) Turkey has finally agreed to Sweden and Finland's joining of the NATO alliance, BBC reported on Wednesday.
Turkey had initially opposed the two Scandinavian countries' bids to join the military alliance.
Turkey's opposition was based on the two Scadinavian countries willingness to host Kurdish militants. Sweden and Finland could not join NATO without Turkey's support, as any NATO enlargement must be approved by all 30 members.
Russia strongly opposed the two countries joining NATO as it would mean that the military alliance would come right at its doorsteps and has used the expansion of the West's defensive military alliance as a pretext for its war in Ukraine.
But Moscow's invasion has had the opposite effect, with the path now clear for the two Nordic countries to join NATO.
Foreign ministers from the three countries signed a joint security pact that addressed Turkey's concerns.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Sweden has agreed to step up its work on Turkish extradition requests of suspected militants and the two Nordic nations will also lift their restrictions on selling weapons to Turkey.
Finland's President Niinisto said the three countries signed the joint memorandum "to extend their full support against threats to each other's security".
Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said it was "a very important step for Nato".
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office said it "got what it wanted" from Sweden and Finland.
The two Nordic nations announced their intentions to join Nato in May, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Stoltenberg had suggested the process could move "very quickly" as they already shared a close relationship with the alliance.
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