Finland Optimistic On Turkey Ratifying Its Accession Protocol To NATO - Prime Minister

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th October, 2022) Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Friday that Finland "is not an issue" for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the NATO accession process and expects Ankara to ratify its protocol as soon as possible.

"I discussed yesterday with President Erdogan about the NATO ratification process in Turkey, he said that Finland is not an issue. We have always been very consistent when it comes to policies for example concerning Turkey we have negotiated before the Madrid meeting and we are now fulfilling those agreements, so of course we hope Turkey will ratify our NATO membership as soon as possible," Marin said at the doorstep of the informal EU 27 summit and meeting within the European Political Community.

On Thursday, Marin and Erdogan briefly met on the sidelines of the European Political Community's first meeting in Prague.

On July 5, the permanent representatives of NATO member states signed accession protocols for Finland and Sweden at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels. All members of the bloc have to ratify the protocols according to their national legislation. As of today, out of all 30 NATO countries, only Turkey and Hungary have yet to complete the formal procedure to welcome Finland and Sweden to the alliance.