Finnish president says he is ‘confused’ by Erdogan response to their Nato application

Finland's president Sauli Niinisto has said that he is "confused" after Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he was "not positive" about the prospect of Finland or Sweden joining Nato.

Niinisto said he was confused as he had spoken to Erdogan a month ago, and that the Turkish president told him that he would "asses [Finland's Nato application] favourably".

Russia has warned of “serious military consequences” if either Finland or Sweden joins the alliance. Putin has cited the growth of Nato as an issue when justifying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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