Parties represented in its parliament Finland hinted today that they might ratify its founding treaty NATO within the next few weeks to take an important step towards the entry of the country into the Alliance, perhaps even earlier than the neighboring Sweden.

The two Scandinavian countries applied to join NATO after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February and say they want to go “hand in hand”. However, although the majority of NATO members approved the request, Turkey I do not agree with the candidacy of Sweden.

Ahead of the April elections, most political parties in Finland say they want parliament to vote on the treaties before it closes on March 3. The Foreign Affairs Committee discussed the law needed for ratification behind closed doors today.

The discussion will continue next week, but progress has already been made, said the head of the commission, Mr. Yushi Hala Ahoparty “True Finns”, speaking on public television Julia.

The bill must be submitted no later than February 20 for parliament to vote on it before the election.

OUR Hala Aho he also said that everyone in the Commission wanted the nominations of Sweden and Finland at the same time, but “the matter is not entirely in our hands”, as he characteristically put it. “Surprises are possible if Turkey or Hungary or one of them decides to ratify only one of the nominations, but not the other, and, of course, in such a situation, we must be ready to react and make decisions,” he added.

“We won’t wait forever for Sweden”

If all existing NATO members ratify Finland’s candidacy, this would mean that the country would join NATO without Sweden.

However, to do this, Turkey and Hungary must first ratify Finland’s membership, and NATO must send an official invitation to Helsinki to become a member.

Finland’s justice minister told Ilta-Sanomat that the process would leave Finland some space to wait for Sweden if needed, but not “forever”.

Officially, Finland has insistently confirmed that it wants to join NATO together with Sweden. After all, Stockholm is Helsinki’s closest defensive ally.

In addition, in the event of a conflict with Russia, with which Finland has a 1,300-kilometer border, NATO will have to pass through Swedish territory to help defend Helsinki.

^{According to Reuters, APE-MEB}