Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday approved Finland’s accession to NATO after months of talks, but added that discussions with Sweden will continue, CNBC reports.
“We have decided to initiate the ratification of Finland’s accession process to NATO in our parliament,” Erdogan said in Ankara, according to a Reuters translation, as he met his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto.
Erdogan added that he hoped the Turkish parliament would endorse Finland’s bid before the country’s May 14 elections.
In May, Finland and Sweden sent applications to join the military alliance. They decided to put an end to their policies of neutrality and military non-alignment in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But the process to join NATO has not been as smooth as some had expected, particularly with Ankara demanding more security reassurances from Sweden.
