US welcomes Türkiye's decision to ratify Finland's NATO bid in Parliament

WASHINGTON, March 18 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- The US Friday welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's announcement to move ahead with Finland's NATO membership bid, the White House said.

"The United States welcomes President Erdogan’s announcement that he will send Finland’s NATO accession protocols to the Turkish Parliament and looks forward to the prompt conclusion of that process," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

"We encourage Türkiye to quickly ratify Sweden’s accession protocols as well. In addition, we urge Hungary to conclude its ratification process for both Finland and Sweden without delay," he added, reported Anadolu.

Noting that Sweden and Finland are both "strong, capable partners that share NATO’s values," he said that they will "strengthen" the Alliance and contribute to European security.

"The United States believes that both countries should become members of NATO as soon as possible," he added.

Türkiye on Friday said it is approving the process of Finland's NATO membership protocol in its parliament.

Noting that Finland has fulfilled Türkiye's security concerns, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at a joint press conference with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto in Ankara, said: "We have decided to launch the approval process of Finland's NATO membership protocol in our Parliament.”

On Sweden's process, however, Erdogan said the process "will be directly linked to the concrete steps which Sweden will take."

--BERNAMA-ANADOLU