NATO countries' ratification of Finland's membership in the alliance is progressing faster than expected, President Sauli Niinisto said.
"I think the process is progressing even faster than previously thought. In the case of the United States, for example, some saw a possible slowdown due to the fall midterm elections. The process has moved surprisingly quickly in the U.S. and the 22 nations that have already ratified," Niinisto said Thursday, referring to the U.S. Senate's decision to ratify Finland and Sweden, a senior official told the broadcaster Yle.
He said the ratification includes an expression of U.S. will that Finland and Sweden can receive support, although security guarantees for NATO as a whole are not yet valid because the fifth article of the alliance's treaty requires full membership for the two countries.
"We can be safe now, although some NATO countries have not yet ratified the membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO. I believe other countries will ratify quickly," the president said.
He is not concerned that Turkey has expressed disapproval of Finland and Sweden's accession.
"I'm not very worried, the negotiations with Turkey are ongoing. How long they will last, I won't predict. So far the process has been going well, and it is continuing," Niinisto said.
The Yle report also said that Finland's membership in NATO requires the approval of all 30 NATO countries, and that the U.S. decision was seen in the country as a strong demonstration of support for Finland. "It could also increase pressure on Turkey, which has been trying to stop Finland and Sweden from joining NATO," the portal notes.
The Yle portal reports that Sweden has also taken a positive view of the U.S. Senate's decision. According to Yle, Magdalena Andersson, Prime Minister of Sweden, wrote on her page in the social networking site to thank Sweden after the vote in the U.S. Senate.
Finland and Sweden applied to join the alliance on May 18. Discussion of the applications was blocked by Turkey, but it later withdrew its objections. On June 29, the NATO leadership decided to invite the countries to join the alliance.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed the opinion that the ratification process could take up to a year, Interfax reported.