KABUL (Pajhwok): Turkey parliament has unanimously voted in the favor of Finland’s membership in NATO, according to a media report on Friday.
The move by Ankara put an end to months of delays while also continuing to block Sweden from joining the military alliance, a <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/30/europe/turkey-vote-finland-nato-membership-intl/index.html">report</a> in CNN said.
<p data-uri="archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_D0633AF0-690F-7298-1EB8-345AEAB1ED5E@published" data-editable="text" data-component-name="paragraph">The Turkish Parliament voted unanimously in favor of Finland’s membership on Thursday, clearing the last hurdle in the accession process.</p>
<p data-uri="archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_F091B551-69AA-58F1-92C6-346206AC1D6D@published" data-editable="text" data-component-name="paragraph">The vote fulfills Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “promise” to allow Finland in the defense alliance. Turkey was the last NATO member to approve Finland’s accession, although Hungary only did so on Monday.</p>
<p data-uri="archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_0D6EABE7-47A3-DE16-511C-347BDE6580B5@published" data-editable="text" data-component-name="paragraph">In a statement after the vote, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said his country is “now ready to join NATO.”</p>
<p data-uri="archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_EB3FFB78-6FC7-6AD7-1948-347D3496F944@published" data-editable="text" data-component-name="paragraph">“All 30 NATO members have now ratified Finland’s membership. I want to thank every one of them for their trust and support,” he also said. “Finland will be a strong and capable ally, committed to the security of the Alliance.”</p>
<p data-uri="archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_9F621B62-98F5-43F4-1171-347E2B5E4CF8@published" data-editable="text" data-component-name="paragraph">“We look forward to welcoming Sweden to join us as soon as possible,” the Finnish president added.</p>
<p data-uri="archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_52A1E8C9-3EC8-C999-7ADE-347087B7193B@published" data-editable="text" data-component-name="paragraph">NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also hailed the decision. “I welcome the vote of the Grand National Assembly of #Türkiye to complete the ratification of #Finland’s accession. This will make the whole #NATO family stronger & safer,” Stoltenberg said in a tweet.</p>
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