Leaving his meeting with King Felipe VI at the Royal Palace, Biden accepted the call from Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson. They translated it through what they agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. And he gave a sign.
In the six and a half months since Biden made his first phone call to Niinistö with an offer to join NATO, the security situation in Europe has changed dramatically. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has dismissed long-held assumptions about the security of nations along its borders. And countries that have maintained a strict policy of neutrality for decades are suddenly reconsidering their position.
“Their decision to move away from neutrality and the tradition of neutrality to join the NATO alliance will make us stronger and more secure, and NATO stronger,” Biden said at the start of the NATO summit in Madrid. Wednesday. “We send an unmistakable message, in my opinion … that NATO is strong, united, and the steps we are taking during this summit will further increase our collective strength.”
Biden said the expected accession of the two Scandinavian countries was a sign that Putin’s goals in curbing NATO’s eastward expansion had the opposite effect.
“I said Putin was looking for a ‘Finnishization’ of Europe. He will receive “NATOization” of Europe, and that is exactly what he did not want, this is exactly what must be done to ensure Europe’s security. And I think it’s necessary, “he said.
Efforts to join Finland and Sweden to NATO have been both the work of months of constant diplomacy and, in recent days, an intense flow of telephone calls and meetings between senior officials.
The process has been described by senior US and European officials.
Heading for this week’s summit, few of these officials believed that the problems blocking the two Scandinavian countries’ accession would be resolved by the time the leaders leave Madrid. Instead, they had resigned themselves to making progress on an issue they thought could take months longer.
Instead, a series of marathon meetings, a phone call from Biden to Erdogan at strategic times and a last-minute shutdown have cleared the way for the newest NATO members. In the end, Biden confused the prospect of a formal meeting with Erdogan on the periphery of this week’s summit as he insisted the plan go beyond the finish line.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it is clear why Finland and Sweden would consider abandoning their long-standing security positions to join NATO. But in December, before Russian tanks began entering Ukraine, the prospect was more thoughtful.
However, on December 13, Biden called Niinistö to pick up the idea. Russian President Vladimir Putin is amassing troops and equipment along Ukraine’s borders. And it was clear to him that the security situation in Europe was about to change dramatically.
In March, after the invasion began, Biden invited Niinistö to the White House for talks. Sitting in the Oval Office and telling the details of the proposal, the two men picked up the phone and called Anderson in Sweden – where it was after dark – to fulfill it.
In May, the two countries formally applied to join NATO. The next day they were in the White House rose garden, and Biden marked a historic cornerstone.
“After 200 years of military non-alignment, Sweden has chosen a new path,” Anderson said.
“Finland made its decision after a quick but very thorough process,” Niiniste added.
However, the darkening of the Rose Garden celebrations was a staunch resistance from Turkey in adding new members to the alliance. NATO’s longtime most challenging member, Erdogan has accused nations of hiding members of the separatist armed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, also known as the PKK, which Turkey sees as a terrorist organization.
He also wanted the countries to get rid of the arms embargo on Turkey, which was imposed after Turkey’s military intervention in northern Syria in 2019.
The three countries continued the conversation. But in a conscious decision, Biden tried to keep his distance and avoid putting the United States in the middle. Instead, Biden “chose his moments selectively to try to help put his thumb on the scales to get this across the finish line,” according to a senior administration official.
“Americans don’t want to be in the middle of it, because then the price goes up,” said a European official. “If the American (president) somehow shows that this is the problem, (Erdogan will) there are a bunch of other things he wants to ask for.
However, talks between the various countries continued. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke with Turkish counterparts. Finland and Sweden are holding their own talks with Turkey. And the negotiations continued.
As the Madrid summit approached, US and European officials became increasingly disillusioned with Turkey’s resistance, which some said had been deliberately targeted for concessions. Officials who once said in private that they hoped the Madrid summit would serve as a host country for the two newest members of the alliance believed the prospect was unlikely.
“I am not sitting here today and I assume that all issues will be resolved by Madrid,” Sullivan said Monday, a day before Biden’s arrival in Madrid.
But as the summit approached, there were signs of progress. And on Tuesday morning, Biden received a request from Niinistö and Anderson: The time was right to call Erdogan.
Speaking from the Bavarian Alps, where he attended the G7 summit, Biden encouraged the hitherto rebellious Turkish leader to “seize the moment and do so in Madrid,” the administration official said. And he told him that if a deal could be made before the summit, it would pave the way for a formal bilateral meeting between the two men in Spain.
“Turkey’s standard operating procedure is not to give concessions until the last possible moment. And this last possible moment is usually defined as bilateral with the president of the United States,” the European official said.
The strategy proved effective. By early evening, Niinistö, Anderson and Erdogan had announced that Turkey’s objections had been dropped and Finland and Sweden’s applications to join NATO would continue. And Biden will meet officially with Erdogan on Wednesday.
Turkey said it “got what it wanted” in the agreement, including co-operation on “extradition of terrorist criminals”. A senior US administration official said there was a “bunch of moving parts” rather than a “single word or phrase” that proved the latest hurdle.
Erdogan’s long-standing complaints to the United States, including Washington’s refusal to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey and his US request to extradite a cleric he accuses of cultivating a coup attempt, remain unresolved – and are likely to arise during his meeting with Biden. .
Whatever the controversy, the leaders described the outcome as a triumph. And more than four months after the Russian war in Ukraine, NATO is ready to welcome two new members.
“Congratulations to Finland, Sweden and Turkey on signing a tripartite memorandum – a crucial step towards a NATO invitation to Finland and Sweden that will strengthen our Alliance and strengthen our collective security – and a great way to start the summit,” Biden wrote in Twitter.
The image was from their meeting in May, when they entered the Rose Garden.
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