Finland and Sweden will continue their joint path towards joining Nato, President Sauli Niinistö stated on Friday.
Speaking at an event organised by the Association of Finnish Foreign Affairs Journalists, Niinistö said that the speculation over whether Finland might be accepted into Nato before Sweden served "interests other than our own".
"We have started the process with Sweden and we will continue the process with Sweden," Niinistö said.
In an interview with Yle on Thursday, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance's default position remains that the two Nordic nations will join at the same time.
So far, 28 of the 30 current Nato member states have ratified both Finland and Sweden's applications, but Turkey and Hungary are yet to do so.
Niinistö noted that it was especially difficult to predict how the ratification process might progress in Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said last month there is a clear difference between Finland and Sweden in their approach to terrorism — which has been at the cornerstone of Turkish opposition to the two joint bids.
Turkey has demanded the extradition of Kurdish activists suspected of terrorism offences as a condition for ratifying the Finnish and Swedish applications.
However, Niinistö reiterated at Friday's event that he is not worried about the progress of Finland's Nato membership, saying the process has highlighted how much Finland's role in geopolitical security is appreciated.
Finland has maintained conscription, Niinistö noted, at a time when Sweden and Poland abolished compulsory military service.
"If others were like us, even the most conservative estimate is that the European Nato countries would have a reserve of 15-20 million soldiers," he said.
Situation in Ukraine "most worrying news of the day"
The past week has seen a major escalation of the war by Russia, with extensive missile strikes hitting cities and civilian infrastructure across Ukraine.
"The war in Ukraine is always the most worrying news of the day," Niinistö said, adding that although there seems to be no diplomatic solution in sight, diplomacy should still be used to prevent the war from escalating even further.
Noting that the UN General Assembly this week condemned Russia's illegal efforts to annex Ukrainian territory, Niinistö said India, China and the United States in particular have an important role to play in helping to find a resolution to the conflict.
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