Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signals approval of Finland's NATO membership, asks Turkish parliament to vote on the ascension bid
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto hold a joint press conference at Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkiye on March 17, 2023.
"We have decided to start the protocol of Finland's accession to NATO in our parliament," Erdogan said.Despite the rain, Erdogan and Niinisto reviewed the military honour guard at the presidential palace in the Turkish capital’s Bestepe district before holding a formal meeting. The expansion of the 30-nation bloc has been held up by Türkiye and Hungary, the only two countries not to have yet ratified the Nordic states’ bids, which the parliaments of each NATO member must approve.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and lawmakers have repeatedly promised to ratify the two country's NATO membership applications. Asked earlier by reporters if the Turkish parliament might ratify Finland’s membership after Niinisto’s visit, Erdogan responded: “God willing, if it is for the best ... Whatever the process is, the process will function.Niinisto arrived in Türkiye on Thursday and toured areas affected by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that killed more than 52,000 people in Türkiye and Syria last month.
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