Already yesterday, Finland’s president and foreign minister traveled to Turkey’s capital for discussions on NATO accession. Before departure, Niinistö gave positive signals about what to expect.
“We knew that when Turkish President Erdogan made his decision on the ratification of Finland’s NATO membership, he wants to meet and fulfill his promise president to president,” wrote Niinistö on Twitter.
Hungary can vote on March 31
Should Erdogan give the green light for Finland to join NATO, the Turkish parliament could ratify the membership before Turkey goes to the polls, which could even happen next week, sources told Reuters.
For Finland to become a member, Hungary must also ratify the application. According to sources of Echo Hungary plans to vote on both Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership on March 31.
Kristersson is not included
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is not in Ankara today. However, he and Sauli Niinistö are said to have spoken on the phone with friends before the Finnish visit to Turkey. That’s what Niinistö writes on Twitter.
At the same time, Kristersson has said that the Swedish government assesses that the probability has increased that Finland will become members first.
NATO’s hope is that both countries will be members before the summit in Vilnius in July.
