Copenhagen, 17 March 2023 (dpa/MIA) — The Finnish government is expecting good news from visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday when it comes to Helsinki's bid to join NATO.

Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said on Thursday that he expects Turkey to approve his country's accession to the revitalized military alliance after he holds talks with the visiting Turkish leader.

If this happens it would mean that the path would be practically clear for Finland to become a NATO member before its Nordic partner Sweden.

Finland's admission could be ratified by parliament before Turkey's election on May 14.

Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership about 10 months ago. To date, 28 of the 30 NATO members have ratified their accession protocols. Only Hungary and Turkey have not yet done so.

Hungary is expected to give its approval soon. But Ankara has been blocking the accessions with reference to an insufficient fight against "terrorist organizations" among the NATO applicants. These complaints are seen as mainly directed against Sweden.

Turkey will "keep the promise it made" regarding Finland's NATO entry, Erdoğan said on Wednesday in Ankara.

It was not immediately clear if and when the Turkish parliament would start debating the ratification of NATO's Nordic expansion.