The Turkish parliament on Thursday passed a law allowing Finland to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), paving the way for Helsinki to join the Western defense alliance while the war in Ukraine continues.
The Turkish parliament is the latest to ratify Finland’s membership among the 30 member states of the alliance, after the Hungarian legislature approved a similar bill earlier this week.
For his part, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the approval of the Turkish parliament and said that “Finland’s accession to the alliance will make it stronger and more secure.”
The President of Finland also welcomed this step, and said, “Our country is now ready to join NATO after all NATO members have approved our membership.”
Green light
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had confirmed earlier that his country had taken steps to ratify Finland’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
On March 17, he said, “I wish for final approval of Finland’s accession to NATO before the elections.”
Finland and Sweden.. Why is the key to NATO membership in Erdogan’s hands?
The Turkish president gave the green light to Finland’s accession to NATO, leaving the Turkish parliament the task of ratifying the Finnish request.
Finland, Sweden and Turkey signed a tripartite agreement at a NATO summit in Madrid in June, and Turkey has repeatedly expressed its displeasure at what it perceives as Sweden’s failure to live up to its commitments while noting that it is satisfied with Finland’s progress.
The Turkish government accuses Sweden of being too lenient with groups it considers terrorist organizations and existential threats, including Kurdish groups.
