Istanbul: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has approved the decision of the country’s parliament to ratify Finland’s bid to join NATO, according to a decree published by the Turkish government’s Resmi Gazete.
The Turkish parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, ratified the protocol on Finland’s membership in NATO in the early hours of Friday.
“It was decided to consider the approval of the protocol of July 5, 2022, on Finland’s accession to NATO expedient,” the decree said.
Finland and Sweden applied to become NATO members last May, three months after Russia started its special military operation in Ukraine. Turkey and Hungary have been delaying the ratification process but softened their stance on Finland’s accession earlier this March.
As for Sweden, Erdogan said in January that Stockholm should not count on Ankara’s support for its NATO bid due to the recent Quran-burning protests. Turkish officials have repeatedly stated that NATO’s doors were not closed to Sweden, but the accession process and its speed were completely dependent on Stockholm’s next steps.
