Finland and Sweden have officially applied for membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Finland’s Ambassador to NATO Klaus Korhonen and his Swedish counterpart Axel Wernhoff submitted two letters of application together to NATO Headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday morning.
Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg described the simultaneous submission of applications a "a historic moment" European security and politics.
"I warmly welcome the requests of Finland and Sweden to join NATO. You are our closest partners and your membership in NATO will increase our common security," Stoltenberg said during a short ceremony.
Now that the applications have been received, the Alliance’s 30 current NATO members will have to decide whether to invite the two Nordic countries to join the negotiations.
Although most NATO countries have already expressed their support for the accession of Finland and Sweden, the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said his country was not in favor of the Nordic countries joining NATO, citing concerns about NATO "terrorists" in both countries.
"We are determined to address all issues and draw quick conclusions," Stoltenberg said at a news conference Wednesday morning.
Source: The Nordic Page