Antti Kaikkonen, Finland’s defence minister, stated that the sooner Turkey ratifies its NATO membership application, the better, and that Finland would consider issuing arms export permits to Turkey on a case-by-case basis.
In an interview with Reuters following a meeting with his Turkish colleague Hulusi Akar in Ankara, Kaikkonen said there was no deadline for Turkey’s confirmation of his country’s NATO membership application.
However, a senior Turkish member from the ruling AK party stated that the speed of ratification was in the hands of Finland and Sweden, and how quickly they met Turkey’s wishes.
In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both Nordic nations wanted to join NATO this year, but longtime member Turkey refused to support their request until a number of conditions were met, including harder stances against Kurdish militants and lifting a restriction on arms sales.
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