Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that his government no longer objects to Finland’s request to join NATO, paving the way for the Nordic country’s potential membership in the alliance. The parliaments of Turkey and Hungary will still have to approve Finland’s bid, though Erdogan’s support removes the main obstacle that had previously held it up.

The announcement came today as Finnish president Sauli Niinistö met with Erdoğan in Turkey’s capital.

“When it comes to fulfilling its pledges in the trilateral memorandum of understanding, we have seen that Finland has taken authentic and concrete steps,” Erdoğan said, referring to an agreement between his country, Finland, and Sweden, whose own bid still faces Turkish objections.

The Turkish government continues to stand in the way of Sweden’s membership campaign by claiming that Sweden harbors Kurdish terrorist groups.

Although the Turkish parliament will soon enter a recess, the director of the German Marshall Fund’s office in Ankara, Özgür Ünlühisarcikli, told the Associated Press that there will likely be an “accelerated process” to hold a vote on Finland’s potential NATO membership.

Meanwhile, another hurdle for Finland — a vote by Hungary’s parliament — remains. Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán has endorsed Finnish and Swedish membership in NATO, but the Hungarian parliament has delayed votes on the ratification of the two countries’ accessions amid a separate spat with the European Union over corruption allegations.

The news that Erdoğan has approved Finland’s membership was celebrated in Washington this afternoon, with national-security adviser Jake Sullivan saying that the White House “welcomes” the development. Sullivan said that the U.S. encourages Turkey to “quickly ratify” Sweden’s accession documents too, and that it urges Hungary to do the same for both Nordic countries.

“Sweden and Finland are both strong, capable partners that share NATO’s values and will strengthen the alliance and contribute to European security,” he added.

The news was also celebrated by congressional GOP hawks. Senator Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called it “imperative that Sweden and Finland be made full members of the alliance prior to the July NATO summit in Vilnius.”

During a meeting last week, Erdoğan agreed to hold a conversation between Turkey, Finland, and Sweden at the alliance’s headquarters, according to NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg.

“They are sitting around NATO’s table, integrating into our political and military structures, exercising more with allies,” Stoltenberg said of the two prospective NATO members, declaring that it is already “inconceivable” that NATO would not respond if either country were attacked.