Finland can join NATO: finally the green light from Türkiye | outside

Ratification of the Finnish application became a mere formality after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave his consent to accession. All 276 members of Parliament voted on Thursday in favor of joining the Scandinavian country.

This makes Helsinki the 31st member of the alliance, after 29 NATO countries previously agreed to join. Hungary crossed the bridge on Monday. Everyone is now on board with Türkiye. Finland now only needs to send the “ratifications” to Washington, as the alliance treaty is being kept.

Initially, Finland hoped to join NATO on the side of neighboring Sweden. But both Hungary and Turkey refuse to support Sweden’s membership at the moment. Stockholm itself is still hoping to join before the main NATO summit in Vilnius which starts in July.

Finland had long sworn, like Sweden, not to join a military alliance, but changed sides after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland shares a border of 1,300 km with Russia. NATO membership means that Finland will receive support from the other members if Russia dares to invade the country.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he was pleased that all member states agreed to Finland’s accession to the alliance. “This will make the entire NATO family stronger and safer,” he wrote on Twitter. Earlier, the Secretary General stated that it was important that Sweden, which submitted the application together with Finland, also become a “full member of NATO.”

Sauli Niinisto, President of Finland, thanked all 30 NATO member states on Thursday for their support for Finland’s prospective membership. Finland is now ready to join NATO. His country will be a strong and capable partner in the coalition. Niinisto also thanked other member states for their “trust and support”. He also wants Sweden, another NATO candidate, to join “as soon as possible”.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin also extends our collective thanks to all NATO members. As allies, we will give and receive security. We will defend each other. “Finland stands with Sweden now and in the future and supports its implementation,” she wrote on Twitter.