Turkey approves Finland’s accession to NATO

Finland will become NATO’s 31st member after Turkey’s parliament voted to approve the request.

Turkey delayed Finland’s entry into the West’s defense alliance for months – complaining that the Nordic nation was supporting “terrorists”.

Sweden, which applied to join NATO at the same time last May, is still being blocked by Ankara over similar complaints. Any NATO expansion requires the support of all its members. .

Finland will now be formally admitted to NATO at its next summit, taking place in Lithuania in July. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Twitter: “I look forward to raising the Finnish flag at NATO headquarters in the coming days. Together we are stronger and safer.”

I congratulated President @niinisto on the completion of the historic ratification of #Finland’s accession. I look forward to raising #Finland’s flag at #NATO HQ in the coming days. Together we are stronger & safer.

— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) March 31, 2023

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved Finland’s accession earlier this month, praising the country’s “authentic and concrete steps” on Turkey’s security.

But its ongoing hostility to Sweden was evident – ​​as Turkey has again accused Sweden of embracing Kurdish militants and allowing them to demonstrate on the streets of Stockholm.

Sweden and Finland’s journey from neutrality to NATO
Ankara’s decision to ratify Finland’s membership has cleared the way for one of the most significant moments in NATO’s recent history.

Finland, a country with a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) border with Russia and one of the most powerful arsenals of artillery pieces in Western Europe, is ending its neutrality and is fully prepared for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The answer is joining the coalition.

Sweden also abandoned a long-standing pledge of neutrality in applying to join NATO, but unlike its neighbor it has no border with Russia.

One of NATO’s founding principles is the principle of collective defense – meaning that an attack on one member state is considered an attack on all of them.

Finland’s accession is a major strategic blow for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia sent troops to Ukraine last year in hopes it would block NATO expansion and weaken the West. In fact, it has achieved the exact opposite.

Finland is now set to become NATO’s seventh country on the Baltic Sea, further severing Russia’s coastal access to St Petersburg and its tiny Kaliningrad.

Finland’s public opinion has changed dramatically since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Almost overnight last spring, support for NATO membership jumped from one-third to nearly 80 percent of Finland’s population.

Finland believes that it has a better chance of avoiding a Russian attack if it joins the NATO alliance.