An important statement was published from the NATO Summit, which was held in Madrid, Spain and attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The leaders of the alliance countries decided to invite Sweden and Finland to join the alliance and agreed to sign the accession protocols.
Highlights from the articles included in the report are as follows:
- As Allies, we have defined the new strategic concept.
- The biggest threat is Russia. Russia must immediately end the war and withdraw from Ukraine. We will continue to support Ukraine.
- We decided to invite Sweden and Finland to NATO.
- We will increase our defense and deterrence.
“WE MADE A HISTORIC DECISION”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also stated in his statement after the declaration that the new concept drew attention to the threat of Russia and said, “While Russia was an external partner in the strategic concept in 2010, it is now defined as a direct threat.”
Regarding the decision to invite Finland and Sweden to the alliance, Stoltenberg said, “We made a historic decision today.”
“THANK YOU TO TURKEY”
Stoltenberg also said, “It’s a good deal. I thank you for your efforts” for the agreement signed after the 4-way summit between Turkey, Finland, Sweden and NATO yesterday.