Finland and Sweden are poised to join the Nato military alliance after signing an agreement with Turkey.
Both countries applied to become members in response to Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine, reversing decades of foreign policy in the process.
Securing agreement from Turkey, which baulks at the perceived pro-Kurd stances of the applicants, had been the main hurdle but talks have produced a breakthrough tonight.
The three countries signed a memorandum to ‘extend their full support against threats to each other’s security’, a nod to Ankara’s ongoing conflict with the PKK, a militant group at war with the Turkish state.
President Recep Erdoğan has previously accused Sweden in particular of ‘harbouring terrorists’ and demanded they condemn the group.
All eyes will now be on the Kremlin which has previously threatened to respond if the two nations push ahead with their plans.
The move will add 800 of miles of Nato-Russia border to the alliance’s frontier, a strategic and symbolic blow to Mr Putin’s efforts to divide the bloc.
Finland’s president Niinisto said in a statement that Turkey will ‘support the invitation of Finland and Sweden to become members of Nato’ this week.
He added: ‘The concrete steps of our accession to Nato will be agreed by the Nato allies during the next two days, but that decision is now imminent.
‘Our joint memorandum underscores the commitment of Finland, Sweden and Turkey to extend their full support against threats to each other’s security.
‘Us becoming Nato allies will further strengthen this commitment.’
Leaders of members states are meeting in Madrid to discuss how to overhaul the organisation in the face of renewed aggression from Russia.
Boris Johnson signalled he would push for a more ambitious defence spending target among allies over the next two days.
The commitment to spending at least 2% of gross domestic product, a measure of the size of the economy, has so far only been met by nine members of the alliance.
He told reporters: ‘I think that we will have to have a conversation at Nato about where we go next.
‘And then that’s something that we’ll be talking about to friends and colleagues.’
Anger at Nato’s eastward expansion since the 1990s underpins Mr Putin’s foreign policy and Ukraine’s push for membership was a key factor for his decision to invade.
In February, a statement was posted on the Twitter account of Russia’s foreign ministry reading: ‘We regard the Finnish government’s commitment to a military non-alignment policy as an important factor in ensuring security and stability in northern Europe.’
It added: ‘Finland’s accession to [Nato] would have serious military and political repercussions.’
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