NATO formally extended an invitation to Finland and Sweden to join the Atlantic alliance after weeks of negotiations Wednesday, increasing the bloc’s membership to 32 countries. 

“Today, we have decided to invite Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO, and agreed to sign the Accession Protocols,” the NATO heads of state participating in this week’s Madrid summit wrote in a formal declaration.

“In any accession to the Alliance, it is of vital importance that the legitimate security concerns of all Allies are properly addressed,” it added, referring to opposition raised by Turkey over Sweden and Finland’s harboring of Kurdish activists whom Ankara insists are members of terrorist groups

After weeks of stalling their candidacies, Turkey lifted its objections on Tuesday to the Nordic nations entering the alliance, saying the country “got what it wanted” including “full cooperation … in the fight against” the militant PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) organization “and its affiliates.”

Stockholm and Helsinki had previously objected to Turkey’s claim that non-PKK Kurdish groups also constituted terror organizations.

As part of the three nations’ agreement, Finland and Sweden said they would crack down on groups deemed to be a national security threat not “impose embargo restrictions in the field of defense industry” and take “concrete steps on the extradition of terrorist criminals.”

“The accession of Finland and Sweden will make them safer, NATO stronger, and the Euro-Atlantic area more secure,” read the declaration. “The security of Finland and Sweden is of direct importance to the Alliance, including during the accession process.”

Finland and Sweden first applied for membership in May amid Russia’s months-long invasion of Ukraine. 

President Biden touted the announcement on Wednesday, saying, “This is going to make us stronger and more secure and NATO stronger. We’re sending an unmistakable message … that NATO is strong [and] united.”