Turkiye’s senate ratifies Finland’s membership in NATO
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Sulaiman
- . March 31, 2023
- . Update: March 31, 2023 11:09 pm
The final barrier to Finland’s long-delayed entry into the Western military alliance was removed on Thursday when Turkiye’s senate approved its application to join NATO.
Days after Hungary’s parliament also decided in favor of Helsinki’s application, all 276 of the present legislators supported it.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg praised Turkiye’s move on Twitter, writing that it would make the entire NATO family stronger and safer.
Finland and Sweden abandoned their decades-long policy of nonalignment and submitted an application to join the alliance after being alarmed by Russia’s incursion of Ukraine a year ago.
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Turkey and Hungary were the last two NATO members to approve Finland’s admission, and full unanimity is necessary for the 30 member alliance to admit new members.
Sweden’s application to join the alliance, meanwhile, is still pending because Turkey and Hungary are reluctant to approve it despite their backing for NATO expansion.
Turkey’s government, including militant Kurdish organizations and individuals connected to a 2016 coup attempt, charges Sweden of being overly lenient toward groups it considers to be terrorist organizations and security threats.
Recently, a number of protests in Sweden, including one where an anti-Islam protester burned the Qur’an outside the Turkish Embassy, infuriated Turkiye.
