His consent to its inclusion Finland V NATO gave yesterday, with a delay of 10 months, Tayyip Erdoganretaining, however, the Turkish veto over Sweden, which applied to join the Alliance at the same time as the neighboring country.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, who visited Ankara yesterday, Tayyip Erdogan said that “based on the progress made in the implementation of the protocol for Finland’s accession to NATO, we have decided to start the ratification process in Parliament.” “.

The Turkish president was referring to the memorandum of understanding signed last June by the two Scandinavian states with Turkey to assuage Turkey’s fears of being prosecuted for “terrorism”.

Unlike Finland, Erdogan argued that Sweden “opened its arms to terrorists” and that its future membership in NATO would depend solely on its behavior.

Around the same time as Erdogan’s statements, the parliamentary group of Hungary’s ruling party, Fidesz, announced that the membership of the two countries would be put to a vote on March 31. Hungary and Turkey are the only NATO member states that have not yet ratified membership.