Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said that his country has implemented all the requirements of NATO membership, and he expressed his hope that Turkey would ratify the accession of his country and Sweden, but he made it clear that Finland is on its way even if Sweden's request falters.
"I have said more than once that we have done everything required to apply for membership. We seek membership according to our decisions, but we do not have what Turkey is doing," Niinisto said in a statement to Al-Jazeera.
"We hope that Turkey will accept the membership of Sweden and Finland together as soon as possible," he added.
The President of Finland held talks with the Prime Ministers of Sweden and Norway in Stockholm today, Wednesday, and said in a joint press conference that his country will continue its attempts to join NATO even if Sweden's request falters.
"We are going hand in hand (with Sweden) on the things that are in our hands," he said, but added that "ratification is not in our hands."
Niinisto indicated that he would sign a bill requesting joining the alliance as soon as the Finnish parliament approved it in a vote scheduled for February 28.
Sweden and Finland applied last year to join NATO in the wake of Russia's war on Ukraine, but they faced unexpected objections from Turkey.
Joining NATO requires the approval of all 30 member states, including Turkey.
Turkey asked Sweden and Finland to cooperate in several files before granting its approval for membership, especially the extradition of wanted persons from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Fethullah Gulen group, which Ankara accuses of masterminding the 2016 coup attempt.
Tensions between Turkey and Sweden became tense after the Swedish authorities allowed the burning of the Holy Qur'an in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
Ankara has recently hinted that it will only accept Finland's accession unless Sweden takes more steps to meet Turkish demands.