Key Points
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lifted his opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO
- Late on Tuesday, the president's office said it had agreed to back their drives to join, saying Ankara had "got what it wanted".
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lifted his opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO following crunch talks with the leaders of the two Nordic countries in Madrid.
Mr Erdogan had stubbornly refused to green light the applications from the Nordic pair - lodged in response to Russia's war on Ukraine - despite calls from his NATO allies to clear the path for them to enter.
But late on Tuesday, the president's office said it had agreed to back their drives to join, saying Ankara had "got what it wanted".
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands after talks on Sweden's and Finland's NATO application ahead of NATO summit. Source: AAP / Henrik Montgomery / TT / EPA
Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson hailed a "very good agreement" with Turkey to back the NATO memberships, saying the move would make the alliance stronger.
"Taking the next step toward a full NATO membership is of course important for Sweden and Finland. But it's also a very important step for NATO, because our countries will be security providers within NATO," Ms Andersson said.
Ms Andersson rejected claims that she had conceded too much to Mr Erdogan in order to convince him to drop his veto to Stockholm's membership.
"I think this is an agreement that I can stand fully behind," she said after lengthy talks in Madrid with Erdogan and her Swedish counterpart.
Ms Andersson said she had been able to lay out to the Turkish leader changes in Sweden's terrorism legislation set to come into force next month.
"And of course, we will continue our fight against terrorism and as NATO members also do so with closer cooperation with Turkey," the Swedish premier said.
Anthony Albanese's support for Ukraine declared at NATO summit
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared Australia's support for Ukraine, saying Rusian President Vladimir Putin's "illegal war of aggression" must end.
The civilian death toll continues to grow in Ukraine, with missile strikes in Kyiv and Kremenchuk prompting accusations of war crimes. The Russian government continues to claim it does not target civilians with its military strikes.
Speaking to reporters from Madrid, Mr Albanese said he stands with NATO leaders on the determination to hold Mr Putin accountable for potential war crimes.
Calling the two missile strikes on a Kremenchuk shopping centre on Monday "abominable", Mr Albanese said leaders attending the NATO summit in Madrid would be looking at further collective action.
"It's one of the reasons why I am here at NATO … the world looks at what is going on and collectively condemns it."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has already announced a more than seven-fold increase to the number of troops being placed on high alert to more than 300,000.
Mr Stoltenberg called the move "the biggest overhaul of our collective defence and deterrence since the Cold War".
'Our 1937 moment'
It comes as the new head of the British Army invoked the fight against Nazi Germany in his call for an increased mobilisation of NATO nations to deal with the threat posed by Russia.
"This is our 1937 moment," Patrick Sanders told an audience at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) military think-tank.
"We're not at war. We must act rapidly so that we aren't drawn into one through a failure to contain territorial expansion."
He urged leaders at the NATO summit to act to stop Russian aggression before it extends beyond Ukraine, posing "an even greater threat to European security after Ukraine than it was before".
"The Russian invasion has reminded us of that time-honoured maxim that if you want to avert conflict, you better be prepared to fight," he said.
Backing the position of heavily arming Ukraine to respond to Russia, he said the UK army would be mobilising over coming years "to help prevent war in Europe by being ready to fight and win alongside our NATO allies".
Australia considers reopening Kyiv embassy
Mr Albanese said he would like to expand Australia's diplomatic presence in Ukraine by reopening the Australian embassy in Kyiv after staff were evacuated in early February ahead of Mr Putin's invasion.
A temporary office was set up in Lviv with officials also working from Poland to help Australians fleeing the fighting.
Additionally, he said he would be looking at options for an ongoing "on-ground" presence in Ukraine in coming weeks.
"That is one of the issues that has been examined over recent days and weeks. And we’ll continue to do that," Mr Albanese said.
He said he still considering an invitation from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to visit Kyiv.
Pathway cleared to resume trade talks with EU
Mr Albanese said his meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has resulted in real progress on Australia's stalled trade talks with the EU.
The meeting lasted for more than an hour and marks the first bilateral visit by an Australian prime minister.
Mr Albanese also met one-on-one with South Korea's President Yoon Seok-youl and took part in talks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Wednesday morning (AEST).
Later this week, he is set to visit Paris at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speak during a bilateral meeting ahead of the NATO Leaders’ Summit in Madrid, Spain. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
"It was clear that there were two impediments ... one was the Australian relationship with France and the breakdown that had occurred in recent times given France's leadership role in Europe," he said.
"The second was Australia's position on climate change, where the perception by Europe and indeed by the world, that Australia was a handbrake on global action.
"Australia just wasn't seen as being fair dinkum about taking action on climate change."
Mr Albanese said he hoped to see an "acceleration" in progress over the coming months, with a number of European trade ministers due to visit Canberra for discussions.
Additional reporting: AAP
