The Turkish Parliament has formally ratified the country’s membership, bringing Finland one step closer to joining Nato.
Prior to the start of the Ukrainian War, the Nordic country had maintained its “neutral” status on the international stage.
While Russian hostility grew, Finland hurried to join Nato alongside Sweden.
In the past, the Kremlin declared that the proposed action was “absolutely” a threat and would be responded with “retaliatory steps.”
This evening, Turkey’s parliament ratified Finland’s application to join Nato, lifting the last hurdle in the way of the nation’s long-delayed accession into the Western military alliance.
All 276 lawmakers present voted in favour of Finland’s bid, days after Hungary’s parliament also endorsed Helsinki’s accession.
The path is now clear for Finland to join Nato as its 31st member.
Sweden’s bid to join the alliance, meanwhile, has been left hanging, with both Turkey and Hungary holding out on giving it the green light.
Alarmed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Finland and neighbouring Sweden had abandoned their decades-long policy of nonalignment and applied to join the alliance.
Full unanimity is required to admit new members into the 30-member alliance, and Turkey and Hungary were the last two Nato members to ratify Finland’s accession.
Turkey’s government accuses Sweden of being too lenient toward groups it deems to be terrorist organizations and security threats, including militant Kurdish groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt.
More recently, Turkey was angered by a series of demonstrations in Sweden, including a protest by an anti-Islam activist who burned the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy.
Turkish officials have said that unlike Sweden, Finland fulfilled its obligations under a memorandum signed last year under which the two countries pledged to address Turkey’s security concerns.