Turkey’s president agrees to approve Finland’s Nato membership application

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto shake hands during a welcome ceremony at the presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey (Burhan Ozbilici/AP/PA)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey will move forward with ratifying Finland’s Nato application, paving the way for the country to join the military bloc ahead of Sweden.

The breakthrough came as Finnish President Sauli Niinisto was in Ankara to meet with Mr Erdogan and 10 months after both Finland and Sweden applied to become Nato members in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, abandoning decades of nonalignment.