Finland Says It’s Ready to Join NATO Even Without Sweden
- Finland joins NATO if Hungary and Turkey ratify, Niinisto says
- President Niinisto speaks to reporters in Harpsund, Sweden
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Finland is set to join NATO if it gets the last outstanding ratifications for its membership bid, regardless of what progress Sweden has made toward joining the alliance, President Sauli Niinisto said on Wednesday.
Finland’s parliament has moved ahead with a domestic process to ratify the Nordic country’s accession to NATO, raising questions about whether the two countries could be admitted into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization at different times. While they both applied to join at the same time, Turkey continues to pose an obstacle to Sweden’s entry while it’s indicated it no longer has a problem with Finland’s membership.