Türkiye will begin procedures to ratify Finland’s request to join NATO

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday, that Türkiye will start the procedures for ratification in parliament of Finland’s request to join NATO, after the country took concrete steps to fulfill its promises.

Erdogan said in a press conference with his Finnish counterpart that Türkiye will continue talks with Sweden on issues related to terrorism, and that Sweden’s request to join the alliance will depend directly on the measures that will be taken.

For his part, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday welcomed Türkiye’s decision to give the green light to Finland’s accession to NATO, and said that Sweden should also be allowed to join the alliance as soon as possible.

“The most important thing is that Finland and Sweden become NATO members quickly, not that they join at exactly the same time,” Stoltenberg said.

For his part, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Friday that the United States welcomes the ratification that Türkiye is preparing to grant to Finland’s accession to NATO and encourages it to ratify quickly Sweden’s membership.

Sullivan added in a statement that, on the other hand, Washington calls on Hungary to complete the procedures for ratifying the accession of Sweden and Finland without delay, saying, “The United States considers that these two countries should become members of NATO as soon as possible”.