her request Finland to join NATO is at the center of the visit of Finnish President Sauli Niiniste to Turkeyand Helsinki is waiting for Ankara to give the green light.

On Thursday, the Finnish President visited the Turkish province of Kahramanmara, which was hit by the deadly earthquakes on February 6, and is expected to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today.

The Finnish President said yesterday Thursday that he is awaiting Ankara’s final approval of his country’s admission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in talks he will hold with his Turkish counterpart. “I have known Erdogan for a long time. I’m sure there are important messages there,” he said.

Asked whether Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO bids would be considered separately, he said his country “did what was necessary.”

Thus, Finland is on track to become a NATO member before Sweden, although their applications were submitted at the same time, ten months ago, as the Turkish parliament is expected to ratify the protocol for this country before the May 14 elections.

To date, the two states’ application to join the military alliance has been approved by 28 of its member states, and the approval of Hungary and Turkey remains.

Budapest is expected to give the green light soon. But Ankara is seen as a bigger deal as the Turkish government accuses Stockholm and Helsinki of not helping to fight “terrorist organisations,” a concern for Sweden in particular.

Mr. Erdogan yesterday promised in Ankara that his government would “keep up the promise it made” regarding Finland’s entry into the North Atlantic Alliance. However, it has not yet become clear when the approval of the two states will begin to be discussed in the Turkish parliament.

^{According to ANADOLU, DPA, APE-MPE}