Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has played spoiler for much of the past 10 months.
On Friday, he is expected to announce — finally — that his country will ratify Finland’s membership, probably paving the way for the alliance to grow.
For NATO, Erdogan’s antics are something between an ill-timed irritant and a dangerous distraction. NATO insists that both countries will join eventually, making the alliance stronger. This week, Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, seemed to concede that Finland would go first. “It is not excluded that Sweden and Finland will ratify in different steps,” he said.Hungary has signaled support for Finnish and Swedish membership, but keeps delaying a parliamentary vote on the matter, leading to speculation that it could be using the issue as leverage in its battle with the European Union. Still, NATO officials say they are confident Hungary will ratify both bids soon.
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