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The Turkish parliament approves Finland's membership in NATO

Politiko 2023-03-31 08:46:39

The Turkish parliament approves Finland's membership in NATO

Finland will become the newest member of NATO, after the Parliament of Turkey has voted to ratify its membership in the North Atlantic alliance. Turkey has delayed this ratification for several months - complaining that this Nordic country is supporting "terrorists".

Sweden, which has applied together with Finland for NATO membership, is still being blocked by Ankara, for the same complaints. Any expansion of NATO must be done with the approval of all member countries.

Finland will be officially admitted to NATO, at the next summit held in July in Lithuania.

Through a statement, after the vote in the Turkish Parliament, the Government of Finland has said that membership in the alliance strengthens the security of the state and improves stability and security in the Baltic region.

"As allies, we will give and receive security. We will protect each other. Finland supports Sweden now, and in the future in its application," Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in a tweet.

The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has given his approval for Finland's membership in NATO, earlier in March, saying that this country has taken "concrete steps" for Turkey's security.

But his ongoing hostility to Sweden has been clear, as he accuses the country of harboring Kurdish militants and allowing them to protest in the streets of Stockholm.

Ankara's decision to ratify Sweden's membership paves the way for one of the most important moments in NATO's history. Finland, a country with a border of 1,340 kilometers with Russia, has renounced its neutrality, after the start of Russia's war in Ukraine, in February 2022.

Sweden has also renounced its neutrality, but unlike Finland, it does not share a border with Russia./REL

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