Biden thanks Erdogan for Finland, Sweden's NATO bid; 'You're doing a great job..'

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday thanked Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for lifting the objections to Finland and Sweden's NATO membership. "I want to particularly thank you for what you did, putting together the situation with regard to Finland and Sweden, and all the incredible work you're going to try to get the grain out of Ukraine," Biden told Erdoğan during the NATO summit in Madrid. "You're doing a great job," Biden added.

Washington did not offer any concession to Turkey

A senior US administration official had claimed earlier that even when Ankara lifted the objection paving way for Sweden and Finland's NATO membership, Washington did not offer any concessions to Turkey to coax it to accept the deal. Biden administartion did not do much to make Turkey drop its opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity with Associated Press said. Turkey never asked the US for anything, he went on to add, but as part of the talks, US played a crucial role in helping bring the two parties closer together.

Biden spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ahead of the NATO summit in Madri on behest of Sweden and Finland to help encourage the talks. "The leaders of Sweden and Finland reached out to Biden just before accepting the agreement," the aide was quoted saying by the agency.  President Joe Biden may have made a "deliberate choice" to keep the US from being a party to the negotiations. He avoided bringing Washington in a position where Turkey could ask for inducements from the US later.

Turkey, which had earlier raised objections to Sweden and Finland's bid for membership and had blocked their accession to the Alliance, signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding at the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain. Ankara has long accused Sweden and Finland of harbouring groups linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and others that it deems terrorists. It accuses two states of hindering its military operations in Syria. The two countries had also halted arms exports to Ankara in 2019. "They are not honest or sincere," Erdogan had iterated, before lifting the objections. 

US president Biden hailed Finland, Sweden, and Turkey for signing the landmark trilateral memorandum – which he said is a crucial step toward NATO's invitation to Finland and Sweden membership. He tweeted that the two nations will strengthen the Alliance and bolster its collective security. It's a "great way to begin the summit, said Biden.