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US President Joe Biden congratulated Finland, Sweden and Turkey for reaching an agreement which will pave the way for the Nordic countries to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance.<br />
In a statement, Biden said, &quot;I congratulate Turkey, Finland and Sweden on signing a trilateral memorandum, which paves the way for Allies to invite Finland and Sweden to join NATO at the Madrid Summit.&quot; US President recalled Finland&#39;s President Sauli Niinisto and Sweden Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson&#39;s visit to the White House and said that they strongly support their membership.<br />
&quot;Their membership will strengthen NATO&#39;s collective security and benefit the entire Transatlantic Alliance. I look forward to working with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg, our Allies, and with Congress to ensure that we can quickly welcome them into our Alliance,&quot; Biden said.<br />
&quot;As we begin this historic NATO Summit in Madrid, our Alliance is stronger, more united and more resolute than ever,&quot; he added.<br />
Earlier, on Tuesday, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said that Turkey has agreed to support Finland and Sweden&#39;s NATO membership bids, removing a major hurdle to the two countries joining the alliance.<br />
In a statement, Niintso said that a joint memorandum on the matter was signed by Turkey, Finland and Sweden in Madrid. The joint memorandum underscores the commitment of Finland, Sweden and Turkey &quot;to extend their full support against threats to each other&#39;s security,&quot; Niinisto said as quoted by CNN.<br />
&quot;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,&quot; he added.<br />
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said he is &quot;confident&quot; that Finland and Sweden will be able to successfully join NATO after the signing of the trilateral memorandum of understanding.<br />
&quot;I&#39;m pleased to announce that we now have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO. Turkey, Finland and Sweden have signed a memorandum that addresses Turkey&#39;s concerns, including around arms exports, and the fight against terrorism,&quot; Stoltenberg said, speaking to journalists in Madrid following the signing of the memorandum.</p>
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