Finland to become 31st NATO alliance member following Turkish vote
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The Turkish parliament unanimously votes in favor of Finland joining NATO making it the 31st and final NATO member that ratifies Helsinki's bid to join the alliance.
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Turkish lawmakers vote in favor of Finland's bid to join NATO, late Thursday, March 30, 2023, at the parliament in Ankara, Turkey (AP).
The Turkish parliament on Thursday unanimously backed Finland's bid to join the US-led NATO alliance only two weeks after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan openly blessed the bid.
The NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the ratification and tweeted that it would "make the whole NATO family stronger and safer."
Turkey's ratification meant that all that remains before Finland become's NATO's 31st member are a few technical steps. In that regard, officials expect that the process would be completed as early as next week.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto thanked NATO's member states in a Twitter post for "their trust and support," adding that "Finland will be a strong and capable ally, committed to the security of the alliance."
— Sauli Niinistö (@niinisto) March 30, 2023
Sweden stays behind
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson pointed out on Sunday that Finland is expected to join NATO earlier than Sweden, given Turkey's objections to Stockholm's membership in the US-led military alliance.
"Currently everything indicates that Finland will join [NATO] earlier than Sweden," Kristersson indicated at a conference of Sweden's Moderate Party, which he leads.
Finland and its neighbor Sweden ended decades of military non-alignment and decided to join the US-led alliance in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
Their applications were accepted at a June NATO summit. But the bids still needed to be ratified by all 30 of the alliance members' parliaments -- a process that got hung up once it reached the turn of Turkey and Hungary.
It is worth noting that Erdogan said the ratification of Sweden's membership in NATO will depend on Stockholm's future actions.
Read more: Hungary placed on Russia's 'unfriendly countries' list
