Finnish President Niinisto says Turkey has agreed to back Finnish and Swedish NATO membership

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Finland's President Sauli Niinisto, Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde and Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto prepare to sign a document during a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, June 28, 2022. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura

Finland's President Niinisto said on Tuesday that Turkey has agreed to support Finland and Sweden's joint membership of NATO, on the first day of the alliance's summit in the Spanish capital Madrid.

Niinisto said the breakthrough came after the three countries signed a joint memorandum "to extend their full support against threats to each other’s security."

(Reporting by Anne Kauranen and Humeyra Pamuk, writing by Aislinn Laing)