Turkey approves Finland’s entry into NATO

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, who is on an official visit to Turkey, with a ceremony at the Presidential Palace.

Having a face-to-face meeting, Erdoğan and Niinistö are holding a joint press conference.

Highlights of President Erdogan’s remarks:

* We are willing to diversify our economic and commercial relations. In our meetings, we also discuss current, regional and global issues, including relations between Turkey and the EU, as well as our bilateral relations.

* We attach importance to Finland’s continued strong support for Turkey’s membership in the EU. My dear friend and I exchanged views on the development of the war between Russia and Ukraine. I spoke of our efforts to end the war through diplomatic means.

* I conveyed my observations and determinations regarding the effective implementation of the Black Sea Grain Agreement, which was concluded by the parties and is of vital importance for world food security.

* Of course, Finland’s NATO application had an important place in our talks. Turkey is among the strong supporters of NATO’s open door policy.

“WE DECIDED TO START THE APPROVAL PROCESS”

* By signing the triple memorandum simultaneously, we record that Turkey’s legitimate security concerns must be removed. We have seen that Finland has taken sincere and concrete steps to fulfill its commitments in the tripartite memorandum. Based on the sensitivity you have shown and the progress made, we decided to start the approval process for Finland’s NATO membership in Parliament.

* I am of the opinion that now the principles and good will of our country to advance in the process are clearer. The progress of the process will be directly related to the steps Sweden takes.

“A VERY SAD DISASTER HAS HAPPENED”

Highlights of Finnish President Niinistö’s speech:

* Thank you for your invitation and also for hosting. I would like to thank you for the long, thorough and in-depth discussions. We have all seen that here in Turkey there has been a huge disaster.

* I had a chance to visit Kahramanmaraş yesterday. As a result of this visit, I would like to express the following; The results of the earthquake are really shocking. At the same time, we saw that you work in the region extremely efficiently.

* Many international people came to the earthquake zone and brought help. I think this gives us hope. In fact, it was a disaster and a very sad disaster. People saw how important it was to work for the common denominator. I think we can replicate this internationally as an example.

* We live in extremely dangerous times geopolitically. I would like to express my special thanks to Mr. President personally. I think you are one of the few people who can meet and talk to everyone everywhere, anywhere in the world. Maybe you’re the only one who can.

“THIS IS IMPORTANT NEWS FOR ALL OF FINLAND”

* We are very happy to receive the news you have expressed about our NATO membership. The signature signed today is a very important indicator that the TGNA has started the approval process.

* This is important news for all Finns. At the same time, 95 percent of our parliamentarians supported our application for NATO membership last spring. Thank you so much.

* We also have a neighbor Sweden. Of course, of course, they are good people, very good people, our relations are very good. I’m not just talking about that. Finland’s NATO membership would not be complete without Sweden. Because we have common interests. We have borders in the Baltic Sea. We are two neighboring countries. I hope there will be 32 member countries of the alliance.

“OUR POSITIVE APPROACH TO SWEDEN IS NOT POSSIBLE”

In the question and answer session, President Erdoğan gave the following answer to the question about what Finland does differently:

* First of all, we don’t have a different approach towards Sweden. But Sweden has embraced the terrorists. There are constant street demonstrations in Stockholm with PKK/YPG/PYD extensions in Turkey. We told the same to Mr. Prime Minister.

* We have given the list of around 120 terrorists and they give us these terrorists. Of course, Mr. Prime Minister is a good person, but they did not give us these terrorists, they could not. Of course, if we cannot surrender to these terrorists, we cannot possibly approach Sweden in a positive way. Of course, there is no such thing in Finland. Since there were no such actions in Finland, we had to separate Finland from Sweden.

* We show our positive approach with the signature we signed today. I received a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs quickly. I have now sent the letter to our parliament. After that, the commission will go to the general assembly from there. I hope to train before the elections.

Finnish President Niinistö gave the following answer to the same question:

* Maybe it would be better if I gave the answer in English. Finland did everything we agreed on last summer in Madrid. Our administrative officials have always kept in touch from that date in Madrid. As I understand it, our level of mutual understanding has increased even more. They were able to better understand the legal system. They have a better understanding of the activities carried out.

* For example, in the fight against terrorism. I think this convinced our Turkish friends. Regarding the issue of the calendar, when the President signed the agreement or the document that sent our request to Parliament, it was a very important moment for us. We hope that the Assembly will have enough time and that efficient work will be carried out on this issue.