French President Emmanuel Macron signed protocols on NATO accession for Finland and Sweden on Saturday.

"This sovereign choice by Finland and Sweden will strengthen their security in the face of the existing threat in their immediate vicinity and will make a significant contribution to the collective position and our European security," AFP reported with reference to the Elysee Palace.

US President Joe Biden signed ratification documents last Tuesday approving Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO, bringing the countries one step closer to officially abandoning their long-standing neutrality allegedly in response to the Russian war in Ukraine.

A week before, the US Senate approved a resolution last week ratifying Finland and Sweden's applications, allowing Biden to formally submit US approval for their membership in the alliance. The applications of the two countries to NATO have yet to be approved by Turkey, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.

In that same period, the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament voted for the ratification of the protocols providing accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO.    

Finland and Sweden applied on May 18 to join NATO, but Turkey immediately blocked the accession process. 

Ankara threatened in July to stall the process of Sweden and Finland joining NATO. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed, "I repeat once again that if our demands are not met the process will be slowed down. We see that especially Sweden does not show the proper reaction."

On the first day of the alliance's summit in the Spanish capital Madrid on June 28, Turkey agreed to support Finland and Sweden's joint membership of NATO after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office considered that "Turkey got what it wanted" from Sweden and Finland before agreeing to back their drives to join the NATO alliance.

On July 10, Sweden made a list of 10 Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members to extradite to Turkey following the signature of the memorandum in Madrid.

One request vs. a long list of conditions
While #Turkey had a long list of conditions from #Finland and #Sweden, all the two Nordic states wanted was to join #NATO.
Here's your guide to understanding on what basis the agreement was made. pic.twitter.com/Aw7Jtu7frp

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 28, 2022

The two Nordic countries have agreed to lift their embargoes on weapons deliveries to Turkey, which were imposed in response to Ankara's 2019 military incursion into Syria.