Erdogan approves the Nordic country's NATO membership

Finland is set to become the 31st member of the US-led military bloc after Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed the decision of his parliament to ratify the Nordic country’s passage into the US-led organization. The signature brings to an end a protracted ratification process which began last summer when Finland, as well as its neighbor Sweden, dropped decades of military neutrality to apply for NATO membership. Ankara had objected to Helsinki’s bid to join the alliance, primarily related to the fact that Finland was supporting Kurdish “terrorist groups” such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Turkey has not yet given a clear indication as to when it intends to ratify Swedish requests to join the alliance, though Ankara has signaled this will not come before Turkish presidential elections in May. NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said he hopes that Sweden can become the 32nd member of the alliance following Turkish elections, but before the annual NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11.