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This Thursday, March 30, the Turkish Parliament approved a bill to allow Finland to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). A decision that opens the way for Helsinki to join the Western defense alliance at a time when war continues to rage in Ukraine. For its part, Sweden, which is also seeking to become part of the Alliance, is still waiting.
It was the last Parliament of the 30 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in making the decision. This Thursday Türkiye ratified Finland’s entry into the alliance.
He document was adopted with almost all the votes of the 276 deputies who were present at the session and they took the opportunity to welcome the new partner of the military organization.
Only one opponent of a pro-Kurdish party abstained from casting his vote, since he has expressed on different occasions that he rejects all military agreements and those that involve weapons.
For his part, Ahmet Kamil Erozan, an opposition member, accused President Erdogan of trying to use this process as a strategy for the presidential elections that are scheduled in the Eurasian country for May 14.
“Most likely, Sweden’s accession will also be approved after the elections,” argued the opponent.
Finland kept “its promises”
The determination comes days after Hungary passed a similar bill. And after the pronouncement of the country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the beginning of March, in which he assured that Finland had complied with the Turkish requirements to be part of the organization.
Among the requirements was adopting concrete measures to comply promises to crack down on groups seen by Ankara as terrorists and free up defense exports.
To join the Atlantic Alliance, the parliaments of all NATO members, without exception, must ratify the new candidates.
But Finland’s path is far from Sweden’s, the two countries having demanded to join the military alliance last year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sweden seems to have a longer way to go
Turkey remains unaccepted of Sweden’s bid, saying it has not done enough to fight what the country sees as “terrorist” groups.
“We are not against Sweden. But Sweden has opened its arms to the terrorists, it has opened its streets. I told the prime minister of Sweden to send us 120 terrorists. Since they have not given them to us, we cannot have a position positive for them,” Erdogan said.
So the Turkish government ensures that Sweden has not complied with the demands that were established in a memorandum, which was signed between the parties at the last NATO summit in Madrid.
Stockholm is accused by Ankara of providing protection to members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in his country, a group classified as “terrorist” by Turkey.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström denied being optimistic that his country will be admitted before the NATO summit to be held in Lithuania.
“I’ve noticed that these issues of the last few days make there always a reason to temper one’s words. I think it’s better to use ‘hopeful’ in this context,” Billström said.
Russia’s official visit to Türkiye next week
In the context of the war in Ukraine, Turkey has been the only country that has maintained relations, both with Russia and with the West, and is seen as one of the possible mediators of the conflict.
This same March 30, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, announced that next week he will travel to Turkey to address issues of the conflict in Ukraine and geopolitics.
The visit will take place between April 6 and 7 on the eve of the opening of the first nuclear plant in Turkey, built with the help of Russia and which awaits the presence of Vladimir Putin for the ceremony.
With EFE and Ruters
