Finland's Parliament on Tuesday approved a proposal to apply for membership in the NATO military alliance with 188 votes in favor and 8 against, the Parliament's Speaker Matti Vanhanen said.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, meanwhile, said she was confident that Finland and Sweden would rapidly join NATO despite reservations regarding their accession expressed by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan -- adding that, if the transition phase between their application and full membership was more drawn out, the alliance's members would give the two Nordic countries appropriate security guarantees.