NATO: Macron welcomes the "consensus" on the membership of Sweden and Finland

Europe 1 with AFP 4:28 p.m., June 29, 2022

Emmanuel Macron welcomed on Wednesday the "consensus" reached the day before on NATO membership of Finland and Sweden after the lifting of Turkey's veto, following a meeting with his Turkish counterpart. Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Madrid.

The entry into the Atlantic Alliance of these two countries, which "have robust and interoperable capabilities", will "contribute significantly to the security of all the allies", underlined the Head of State according to comments reported by the Elysee.

"Full cooperation" in the fight against the PKK

This membership was blocked by Turkey, a member of NATO since 1952, which accused Stockholm and Helsinki in particular of harboring militants of the Kurdish organization PKK, which Ankara considers "terrorist".

But, after long negotiations, Mr. Erdogan gave Tuesday evening his agreement to their entry, having estimated to have obtained their "full cooperation" in his fight against the PKK.

Ensuring "the security of the port of Odessa and maritime convoys"

During their interview, Mr.

Macron and Erdogan "both underlined the importance of displaying a message of unity and strength, in the face of the upheaval in the European security order caused by Russian aggression" in Ukraine, the Elysee said.

The French president notably questioned his counterpart on "the latest Turkish-Russian discussions" to re-establish a Ukrainian grain export corridor in the Black Sea.

The two leaders said "want to continue their coordination, in conjunction with the United Nations, to achieve conditions to ensure the security of the port of Odessa and maritime convoys", according to the presidency.