Erdogan gives Turkey’s blessing to Finland’s NATO bid

Ankara, March 17 (BNA): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today, Friday, that the Turkish parliament will start ratifying Finland’s request for NATO, but not Sweden, removing the biggest remaining obstacle to expanding the Western defense alliance as the war continues to rage in Ukraine.


Erdogan, speaking in Ankara alongside his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto, said Helsinki had Turkey’s blessing after taking concrete steps to fulfill its promises to crack down on what Ankara considers terrorists and liberalize defense exports.


He added that Ankara would continue discussions with Stockholm on issues related to terrorism and that its accession to NATO would directly depend on the measures taken.


Newcomers must be endorsed by the parliaments of all 30 NATO members. Finland will mark the first expansion since North Macedonia joined a transatlantic pact in 2020.


“We have decided to start the ratification process of Finland’s accession to NATO in our parliament,” Erdogan told reporters after his meeting with Niinisto, adding that he hoped the parliament would endorse the attempt before the May 14 elections.


Niinisto said he welcomed the decision, describing it as “very important” for Finland, which shares a long and remote border with Russia. He added that it was important for neighboring Sweden to join the alliance.


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