Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave the green light on Friday to Finland's entry into NATO, submitting to the Turkish parliament the ratification of Finland's application for membership, a decision immediately welcomed by the Atlantic Alliance.
"We have decided to start the process of Finland joining NATO in our parliament," Erdogan said after a meeting in Ankara with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.
The Turkish president's announcement further paves the way for the Nordic country's entry into the Alliance, with 28 of its 30 member states having already approved its candidacy.
Hungary must also ratify the Finnish and Swedish applications for membership, submitted jointly last year following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and which require unanimous approval.
The Hungarian parliament will vote on Finnish membership on March 27, the Hungarian government spokesman announced on Friday.
Mr. Erdogan, who received his Finnish counterpart on Friday, had been blocking since May 2022 the entry into the Atlantic Alliance of the Nordic country and, even more, of its Swedish neighbor.
Turkey notably accuses Stockholm of passivity in the face of Kurdish "terrorists" who have taken refuge in Sweden, demanding extraditions on which the government does not have the last word.
But the Turkish head of state, who continues to block the Swedish candidacy, recognized the "concrete measures" taken by Helsinki in recent months.
"I hope (the ratification) will take place before the elections," Erdogan said during a press conference with his Finnish counterpart.
Turkey's presidential and legislative elections are scheduled for May 14, but the Turkish parliament is expected to adjourn about a month before the double ballot.
"We hope that the (Turkish) parliament will have time," said the Finnish president, describing the process as "very important for Finland".
Finland, subject to forced neutrality by Moscow after its war with the Soviet Union during the Second World War, shares the longest European border (1,340 km) with Russia, behind Ukraine.
Mr Niinistö, however, judged that "Finland's candidacy is not complete without that of Sweden".
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who "welcomed" Erdogan's announcement, said "the most important thing is that Finland and Sweden quickly become full NATO members. , and not that they adhere at exactly the same time".
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a press release, described the announcements from Ankara and Budapest as an “important signal”. Paris "expects" that Turkey and Hungary "also proceed without further delay" to the ratification of Sweden's NATO accession protocol, he continued.
The situation is more delicate for Sweden, which still faces objections from Ankara.
"There has been no positive action taken by Sweden with regard to the list of terrorists," Erdogan lamented on Friday, referring to more than 120 extradition requests made by Ankara.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström regretted shortly after that his country was still waiting for the green light from Turkey, saying however that Sweden was "prepared" for Finland to get it before it.
The burning of a Koran by an extremist in the Swedish capital in January led to the suspension of talks between Ankara, Helsinki and Stockholm.
The Turkish president then hinted that Turkey was ready to ratify Finland's membership separately, although the two countries originally wanted to move forward "hand in hand".
On Tuesday, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson acknowledged that the likelihood of his neighbor joining NATO before Sweden had "increased" lately.
Mr. Kristersson, however, remains hopeful of completing his country's entry into the Alliance before the next NATO summit scheduled for July in Vilnius, Lithuania.
18/03/2023 00:25:34 -- Ankara (AFP) © 2023 AFP
