Finland has been given the green light to join Nato after the Turkish parliament voted to approve its membership.
All 276 lawmakers present on Thursday voted in favour of the Nordic country’s bid to join the Western military alliance.
The general assembly, controlled by a coalition led by President Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, voted just before midnight to ratify the move. Turkey is the last of the 30 Nato countries to back Finland’s membership.
In a statement following the vote, the Finnish government said joining the alliance would strengthen the country’s security and improve stability and security in the region.
“As allies, we will give and receive security. We will defend each other. Finland stands with Sweden now and in the future and supports its application,” Prime Minister Sanna Marin wrote on Twitter.
“This will make the whole Nato family stronger & safer,” Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter.
It comes days after Hungary’s parliament approved a bill to allow Finland to join Nato, ending months of foot-dragging on the matter by the ruling Fidesz party.
Finland and Sweden had asked to join Nato last year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the process had been held up by Turkey and Hungary.
Although Finland’s bid has now been approved, the Swedish bill is still stranded in the Hungarian parliament.
Hungary contends that some Swedish politicians have made derisive statements about the condition of the country’s democracy and played an active role in ensuring that billions in EU funds were frozen over alleged rule-oflaw and democracy violations.
Turkey’s government has accused Sweden of being too lenient toward groups it deems to be terrorist organisations and security threats, including militant Kurdish groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt.
Turkish officials have said that unlike Sweden, Finland fulfilled its obligations under a memorandum signed last year where the two countries pledged to address Turkey’s security concerns.
The bolstering of the Western military alliance comes at a critical time for Nato as it seeks to push through its most significant transformation since the end of the Cold War.
The changes include a new 300,000-strong rapid reaction force, an overhaul of command structures, and a push for Western nations to step up hardware production.
Many nations are now putting military production on a war footing to ensure the continued refreshment of stocks depleted by donations to Ukraine as it defends against Russia.
Nato also hopes to have a new secretary-general to replace Jens Stoltenberg, who plans to stand down in October, by July.
