Turkish Parliament Likely To Ratify Finland's NATO Application Before Elections - Lawmaker

ANTAKYA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2023) The Turkish parliament is quite likely to ratify Finland's NATO accession protocol before the May 14 elections, lawmaker from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) Ibrahim Aydin told Sputnik.

On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the country's parliament had started ratifying Finland's bid to become a NATO member. The protocol on Finland's NATO accession, signed by Erdogan, has been submitted to the Presidency of the Turkish parliament, the TRT Haber broadcaster reported.

"The protocol has already been submitted to parliament. In the next few days, the Foreign Policy Committee will do the necessary work, and then the matter will be presented to parliament for consideration.

I think, the issue will be resolved before the elections," Aydin said.

Finland and Sweden applied to become NATO members last May, three months after Russia started its special military operation in Ukraine. By the end of 2022, 28 out of 30 NATO member states ratified the applications with the exception of Hungary and Turkey.

Budapest and Ankara have signaled readiness to ratify Finland's bid, while tensions between Turkey and Sweden are ongoing due to a provocative Quran-burning demonstration that a far-right activist staged in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm in January with the Swedish authorities' approval.