The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Parliament approved a draft law on the ratification of Finland’s membership in NATO on Thursday, the state broadcaster TRT Haber reported on Thursday. Thus, Finland takes another step forward to de jure NATO membership, and in Helsinki, President Sauli Niinisto has already promulgated a national law that provides for it, according to Reuters, according to News.ro.

After the positive opinion of the foreign affairs committee of the parliament in Ankara, the draft ratification of Finland’s NATO candidacy is to be adopted in the plenary session of the legislative body, and it is expected that this will happen before the end of the current parliamentary session in mid-April.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan last week during a visit to Ankara by his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto promised that the Turkish parliament would ratify Finland’s accession to NATO.

Instead, Erdogan delayed ratifying Sweden’s NATO membership, and Ankara accused him of not going far enough in punishing people Turkey considers terrorists. The three countries signed an agreement on this topic last year.

Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine last February. The parliaments of all 30 NATO member states must ratify the new nominations before the two northern countries become full members of the North Atlantic alliance.

Apart from Hungary, whose ruling party has said it supports the two bids but has delayed formal steps to approve them, Turkey is the only NATO member that has yet to give the green light.

Finland’s entry will be NATO’s first enlargement since North Macedonia joined the alliance in 2020.

Also on Thursday in Helsinki, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto signed the law according to which his country becomes part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization at a ceremony.

On March 1, the Parliament of Helsinki adopted a national law incorporating the provisions of the NATO founding treaty.