Status: 03/17/2023 5:07 p.m
Turkish President Erdogan has announced that his country will agree to Finland joining NATO. Sweden, on the other hand, will have to wait. Hungary has also not agreed to the accession of both countries to the military alliance.
Turkey wants to agree to Finland joining NATO and initiate the ratification process in parliament. This was announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after a meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö. The Turkish parliament could ratify Finland’s accession protocol by mid-April, after which it will cease work due to the Turkish parliamentary elections on May 14.
Visit of the Finnish President: Erdogan gives the green light to join NATO
K. Willinger, ARD Istanbul/C. Blenker, ARD Stockholm, daily news at 5:00 p.m., March 17, 2023
However, Erdogan continues to block Sweden’s accession to the military alliance. More thought will have to be given to Sweden, he said. Since applying in May 2022, Sweden and Finland have repeatedly emphasized that they want to be admitted to NATO “hand in hand”.
Sweden must continue to wait
The Turkish blockade against Sweden, which had become more entrenched after several Islamophobic protests in Stockholm at the beginning of the year, made this parallel step more complicated. It has therefore been rumored for some time that Turkey would first agree to Finland’s accession and that Sweden could follow later. Ankara accuses Sweden of a lack of action against “terrorist organizations” and is referring above all to the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK.
Hungary still has to agree
For a country to join NATO, all members of the alliance must agree. Neither Turkey nor Hungary has so far given the go-ahead for the accession of Finland and Sweden.
In the case of Finland, Hungary again postponed the vote scheduled for next week. However, the governing party Fidesz announced that a vote on Finland’s accession should now take place on March 27th. If a vote takes place, approval is considered certain. Sweden’s accession will be decided “later”.