Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said she believes her country and Sweden will be admitted to NATO by July 2023.

Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said he believes his country and Sweden will be admitted to NATO by July 2023.

In an interview with the local press, Niinistö stated that he wanted Finland and Sweden to be admitted to NATO by July 2023, and stated that he heard many encouraging statements from NATO regarding the smooth progress of membership.

Niinistö stated that if the process is prolonged, the entire process of admitting new members to NATO will become questionable, and argued that Turkey's final decision on the issue depends on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Niinistö, referring to the NATO Summit to be held in Lithuania's capital Vilnius in July, said, "If it won't be at the Vilnius meeting, why later?" said.

Noting that the fact that their NATO membership is still not approved is "more than a headache" for the two countries, Niinistö said, "I can see that this has already become a problem for NATO. Frankly, NATO countries were also surprised." made the statement