The Turkish Parliament voted unanimously to officially ratified Finland‘s membership into transatlantic military alliance, NATO, making the path clear for Finland to join as its 31st member.
Turkey joined NATO in 1952, and has the second-largest military in the alliance after the United States.
The vote follows months of stalling that saw Turkey demand certain concessions from Finland and its neighbor Sweden.
The Nordic nation had been ‘neutral’ on the world stage about military alliances until the war in Ukraine broke out.
After the war broke out, Finland and Sweden who share borders with Russia then raced to join NATO wary they could be the next targets of Russian aggression.
The Kremlin previously said the potential move was ‘definitely’ a threat which would be met with ‘retaliatory steps’.
On Thursday night, March 30, Turkey’s parliament ratified Finland’s application to join NATO, lifting the last hurdle in the way of the nation’s long-delayed accession into the Western military alliance.
All 276 lawmakers present voted in favour of Finland’s bid, days after Hungary’s parliament also endorsed Finland’s accession.
Sweden’s bid to join the alliance, meanwhile, was paused by Turkey, with both Turkey and Hungary refusing to give it the green light.
Turkey’s government accuses Sweden of being too lenient toward groups it deems to be terrorist organizations and security threats, including militant Kurdish groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt.
More recently, Turkey was angered by a series of demonstrations in Sweden, including a protest by an anti-Islam activist who burned the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy.
Full support from all NATO’s 30 members is required to admit new members, and Turkey and Hungary were the last two NATO members to ratify Finland’s accession.
Turkey joined NATO in 1952, and has the second-largest military in the alliance after the United States.
